Former GTA Producer Now Suing Rockstar Games

Back in January a report started circulating about Leslie Benzies (male), a former producer for Rockstar Games who had now left the company. Rockstar’s statement to the press was that Benzies had taken a long sabbatical and decided, within that vacation time, to quit his job there. But Benzies is claiming quite the opposite, and he’s letting his lawyers do the talking:

“When attempting to resume his duties upon conclusion of his sabbatical on April 1, 2015, Mr. Benzies found himself unable to enter the Rockstar North office because his facilities access device had been deactivated. After being let inside by building security, Mr. Benzies was then ordered to leave by the Rockstar North office manager without reason.”

Benzies is suing, insisting he was bullied by Rockstar into taking that sabbatical so they could quietly cut him off. He claims he is owed royalty payments of $150 million. In turn Rockstar is countersuing Benzies, claiming a breach of contract means they don’t owe him any more cash. It’s a nasty situation and it probably won’t be resolved anytime soon.

Before you start feeling too sorry for Benzies, keep in mind he’s basically a suit, and the writers, animators and programmers who actually made the game receive royalties of 0%.