Rob Nelson is a studio head at Rockstar North whose career at Rockstar spans art direction and large-scale game development. He was Rockstar NYC’s art director on Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City and had become Rockstar North’s studio director by 2018.12
Red Dead Redemption 2
Nelson led the Edinburgh studio’s 650-person team during Red Dead Redemption 2’s development. Alongside teams from Rockstar’s other studios, he worked on making the controls feel responsive and the game’s many systems fit together.2
GTA VI leadership
Nelson visited Miami on an early research trip for GTA VI in 2015. Rockstar initially planned to develop it alongside Red Dead Redemption 2, but finishing the western eventually took priority for much of the company.3
After Red Dead Redemption 2, Nelson, Aaron Garbut and Phil Hooker became Heads of Development. By October 2026, Nelson and Garbut were also heading Rockstar North’s Edinburgh studio. The three shared development responsibilities.3
Nelson pushed for Jason and Lucia to spend time together in the open world, giving their relationship room to develop outside missions. The team also had to decide where realism helped the game and where to draw the line, often committing to systems while other parts were still being built.3