Leslie Benzies is suing for a ton of loot!
Earlier today, reports surfaced that former head of Rockstar North and the Grand Theft Auto series, Leslie Benzies, has accused the company and the Houser brothers of withholding royalties. Following the release of Grand Theft Auto V in 2014, Benzies took a sabbatical from the company and initially tried to return April 1st the next year. However, his claims reveal that Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar, and the Houser brothers allegedly tried to him force out after taking time off.
Following his permanent departure from the company last January, he filed a $150 million lawsuit for unpaid royalties in the series. Whether or not this is sole reason why the third party developer has been late with the next-generation deployment of Grand Theft Auto 6 shouldn’t be in question any more, as Rockstar revealed last winter that a former IP would be shown at this June’s e3 – not named Grand Theft Auto. Hopefully, both sides quickly resolve this delicate situation, because we’re not expecting any news on GTA until summer 2017 at the earliest.
Rockstar Games issued a statement saying:
Leslie Benzies was a valued employee of our company for many years. Sadly, the events that culminated in his resignation ultimately stem from his significant performance and conduct issues. Despite our repeated efforts to address and resolve these issues amicably both before and after his departure, Leslie has chosen to take this route in an attempt to set aside contract terms to which he previously agreed on multiple occasions. His claims are entirely without merit and in many instances downright bizarre, and we are very confident this matter will be resolved in our favor. A core ethos since Rockstar’s inception has been the concept of “the team”. It is deeply disappointing and simply wrong for Leslie to attempt to take personal credit for what has always been the tremendous efforts of the entire Rockstar team, who remain hard at work delivering the most immersive and engaging entertainment experiences we can for our fans.
Rockstar Games Almost Made ‘Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo’
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