Former Rockstar North head demands $150 million from Take-Two

Leslie Benzies, who until recently was in charge of Rockstar North, the studio where most Grand Theft Auto games are made, is demanding $150 million from publisher Take-Two Interactive, the owner of Rockstar. Benzies believes he is entitled to arrears of royalties.

Benzies’ claim is set forth by the lawyers he has hired. His legal team’s statement reads that the split between Benzies and Rockstar was less amicable than the studio had led to believe. Rockstar announced in January that Benzies had taken a sabbatical in late 2014—when development was completed on Grand Theft Auto V—and had decided not to return to Rockstar during that leave.

Benzies sees that differently, according to the statement of his lawyers. They argue that Benzies was forced by his employer to take a sabbatical. During his sabbatical it turned out that certain royalties to which Benzies believes he is entitled were not paid. Benzies also argues that the sabbatical was a means of forcing him to leave the company.

Benzies is suing Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games, Rockstar North, Sam Houser and Dan Houser. Sam Houser in particular gets a kick out of it in the lawyers’ statement. Benzies, along with the Houser brothers, formed the leading trio at Rockstar for many years, and the three were in the company’s highest pay grade. According to the lawyers, Benzies did intend to return to Rockstar. He wanted to get back to work on April 1, but noticed on arrival that his access pass had been deactivated. After initially being let in by a doorman, he was soon afterwards asked to leave the building.

Rockstar has since responded to Benzies’ demand. The publisher states that Benzies had behavioral problems and that his contract has therefore been terminated. For that reason, he is also not entitled to the royalties demanded in the lawsuit. Rockstar is now filing a lawsuit against Benzies.

Leslie Benzies has worked for the Edinburgh studio for 17 years. He started there when the studio was still called DMA Design and worked from Grand Theft Auto 3 on the series that made Rockstar North, Rockstar and Take-Two great.