The producer behind the multimillion-selling Grand Theft Auto video games is suing the publisher of the series, Take-Two Interactive, for $150m.
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According to news site Gamesindustry.biz, the Locke Lord lawsuit claims that Sam and Dan Houser, were attempting to force Benzies out of the company and that there was “mounting resentment” between Sam Houser and Benzies.
Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games have since filed a counter-suit against Mr. Benzies, claiming that he left the company without “good reason”, therefore losing any rights to an agreement of payment that was once in place. At least that’s the story former Rockstar North chief Leslie Benzies is telling in a lawsuit against his former employer, saying he is owed $150 million in lost royalties.
In other words, it’s very messy, and may end up resting on the specific wordings of various contracts, royalty plans, and internal Rockstar corporate rules. To help illuminate the details of this case, we’re going to build out the timeline of events based on public records as well as the filings of both Benzies and Take-Two. This appears to be in order to cover legal fees, expenses, and other costs incurred by a lawsuit. It exists “to pay the Rockstar Principals their share of the profits”.
“We can confirm that Leslie Benzies went on sabbatical on September 1, 2014 and has decided not to return to work for the company”, a January 2016 statement reads. His ouster is characterized as “a lengthy deception by Sam Houser”, with the legal complaint laying out the particulars of that allegation. Take-Two publicly claimed that Benzies was leaving the company without contacting him. “Needless to say, Mr. Benzies believes the issues between the parties are far broader than as presented by Take-Two and Mr. Benzies’ Complaint reflects that”. The office manager ordered Benzies to leave, and Benzies complied.
April 2, 2015: Benzies’ counsel sent a notice of termination that cited Take-Two’s violation of his employee agreement and breach of the royalty agreement.
April 13, 2015: Take-Two claims it received a letter from Benzies demanding royalty payments. Rockstar has responded in kind with a counter-suit.
Years later, of course, Benzies would allegedly be flown out to NY and encouraged by Rockstar to take a sabbatical after shipping GTA V.
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Mashable reached out to Rockstar for additional comment, though the company hadn’t responded at the time of publish.
