$150M lawsuit by ex-Rockstar boss alleges deceptions, unpaid royalties

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Leslie Benzies, former president of Rockstar North and lead producer of the Grand Theft Auto series for GTA 3 through GTA 5, is suing his prior employer Take-Two Interactive (which owns Rockstar) for $150 million in unpaid royalties. His suit alleges "numerous deceptions" on the part of Rockstar and its co-founders, Sam and Dan Houser, that eventually led to his forceful ousting from the company.

This conflicts with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick's account, which he gave during a conference call this February. "I can confirm that Leslie Benzies went on sabbatical in September of 2014," Zelnick said. "He's decided not to return to Rockstar Games." Rockstar and Take-Two are adamant that Benzies resigned "without Good Reason," as noted in documents filed with the United States District Court, Southern District of New York.

I haven't seen a legal fight set to get this ugly since the founders of Infinity Ward sued Activision.

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Sam Prell
Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.