Former Rockstar North studio head Leslie Benzies is suing the company for $150 million in damages and unpaid royalties.
Benzies is accusing Rockstar' cofounders' Sam and Dan Houser of "numerous deceptions" including denying him $150 million in royalty payments and unjustly firing him.
According to the lawsuit filed by Locke Lord law firm, the royalty payments were terminated in 2014 "based upon arbitrary actions by the company's royalty Allocation Committee, a committee that may or may not have actually ever met." Benzies explicitly claims that the committee's decision was the result of Sam Houser's resentment to the fact that he received the same compensation from Take-Two as the Houser brothers.
Benzies tried to resolve the issue through mediation with the company but he was "enticed" to take a six months sabbatical midway through. Upon returning from his long vacation, Benzies found that his access rights were revoked and he was escorted by security to Rockstar North office manager who ordered him to leave without reason. The company then issued a press release claiming that Benzies has resigned.
The lawsuit filing revealed some interesting tidbits that shed light on the inner workings of Take Two and the development of its most revered franchise: Grand Theft Auto. The original GTA was a 2D game with a top-down view camera and it remained that way until the release of GTA 3 in 2001 which moved the game to a 3D world with third person view. When Benzies joined Rockstar Games he was working on a 3D Godzilla-type game which was then used as the basis for GTA 3. Benzies claims that his design innovations in GTA 3 are the reason behind its phenomenal success after GTA 1 and 2 were released to "disappointing scores and unexeceptional sales."
Take Two and Rockstar responded to Benzies by filing a counter-suit claiming that they "have sought unsuccessfully to resolve this issue through mediation and now seek judicial clarification that would resolve this controversy."
The two companies also insist that Benzies has resigned of his own free will and hence he is no longer entitled to any post-termination royalties. Furthermore, they claim that Benzies' contract puts the authority to determine the amount of his royalties "solely" in Sam Houser's hands had Benzies not resigned.
Take-Two and Rockstar are seeking "compensatory damages against Benzies in an amount to be determined at trial," and they expect to be awarded "their costs, expenses, disbursements, and reasonable counsel fees in an amount to be determined at trial."
