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[Nirolak]

Looks like Leslie's retirement wasn't voluntary.

Leslie Benzies, former president of Rockstar North and one of the lead producers on the Grand Theft Auto games, is suing Take-Two Interactive for $150 million in unpaid royalties, alleging that the company tried to force him out after he took a sabbatical.

Reports that Benzies had left the company emerged in January, following a sabbatical that began in September 2014. But according to a statement provided by Christopher Bakes, partner at the law firm Locke Lorde LLP, "while on sabbatical, Mr. Benzies discovered numerous deceptions on the part of Take-Two, Rockstar, Rockstar North Ltd, Sam Houser and Dan Houser, who sought to force him out of the company and terminate his portion of royalty payments based upon arbitrary actions by the company's royalty Allocation Committee, a committee that may or may not have actually ever met."

These alleged deceptions, according to Bakes, include unpaid royalties worth over $150 million. The lawsuit specifically cites the "mounting resentments" of Sam Houser, one of the co-founders of Rockstar Games, which allegedly led to Benzies' denial of compensation and eventual ousting.

...

In the statement detailing his legal complaint, Benzies' contract with and payment from Take-Two was said to be identical to that of the Housers until his departure.[/B

...

Benzies tells it differently. In the statement about the lawsuit, he claims to have attempted to return to work on April 1, 2015, only to find that his key had been deactiviated.

"After being let inside by building security, Mr. Benzies was then ordered to leave by the Rockstar North office manager without reason," according to the statement.]

...

Source: http://www.polygon.com/2016/4/12/11414028/leslie-benzies-lawsuit-rockstar-north-take-two-interactive

From the court documents (thanks Quentyn), though this also has a separate thread about the Red Dead trainwreck in case people find more:

Brendan Sinclair from Gamesindustry.biz is tweeting details from the lawsuit.

https://twitter.com/BrendanSinclair/status/719927316466561024

 

[potatohead]

Seems they applied too many notes from their games into real life

Benzies is the real CJ confirmed.

 

[Servbot #42]

Woah this is fucking huge, it will probably get settled but still huge. I wonder what was the conflict between Sam Houser and Leslie Benzies?

 

[MMaRsu]

Wow holy shit. This is pretty big

 

[Nirolak]

Woah this is fucking huge, it will probably get settled but still huge. I wonder what was the conflict between Sam Houser and Leslie Benzies?

I'm confused why companies even do this. I can't think of a time this has happened in the game industry and the developer didn't get paid.

Just fire the people and give them their money to save all the legal fees and extra payments.

 

[potatohead]

I'm confused why companies even do this. I can't think of a time this has happened in the game industry and the developer didn't get paid.

My biggest issue is that I wonder if this affects the games, recent or upcoming games.

Drama can't be good for game development... it's generally not good for anything productive (except for manufacturing excess saltiness).

Quite a megaton, I wasn't even aware he was on sabbatical actually, or I forgot about it.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Is this in any way similar to the Marty situation at Bungie?

 

[antitrop]

This seems huge, but I bet it will be settled in as low-key a fashion as possible.

 

[oldergamer]

This doesn't surprise me. Houser is a dick. He told a studio manager i know to jump out a fucking window, because that is what would happen to him if his game was going to be late.

 

[Flying Toaster]

This will be settled. And if not we have some great drama to talk about for the next few years as it plays out in court.

 

[Simo]

I'm confused why companies even do this. I can't think of a time this has happened in the game industry and the developer didn't get paid.

Just fire the people and give them their money to save all the legal fees and extra payments.

Yeah but then you get emotions and pride getting the better of people and they try to "stick it to them" in regards to the party they want to hurt or get rid of. Like here with what sounding like a House v Benzies.

Sucks to hear all this though, I mean Benzies was the president of Rockstar North which worked mostly if not exclusively on GTA and Benzies and the team had done with the IP has been great. Proof in GTAV's enormous sales. lol

 

[Nirolak]

Is this in any way similar to the Marty situation at Bungie?

Well, Leslie is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) creative driving force behind GTA (which is why he had an equivalent contract to the Housers), so it's probably a bigger deal for the actual game than Marty as a composer and audio lead.

But yes, legally speaking, it's an issue of a company's owners trying to cut someone out from their promised bonuses.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

 

[FloweryMarston]

wow, this is disappointing as hell to me. Always held the housers in a high standard, and leslie was along with them in the rankings of rockstar responsible for making these phenomenal games. Why did this happen? They are working together for years, i don't understand what happened.

 

[Puppen]

I'm thinking back to Alex Navarro on the Beastcast. "One day someone is going to write a tell-all book about all the dark shit that happens at Rockstar."

 

[Obliterator]

Honest question but how can someone not go to work for over a year and expect for their keys to work and still be employed? I'm not saying it's OK he was fired or not but truly how is that possible?

Edit - looks like it was 7 months not a year. Still not sure how that all worked out though

 

[FloweryMarston]

Honest question but how can someone not go to work for over a year and expect for their keys to work and still be employed? I'm not saying it's OK he was fired or not but truly how is that possible?

leslie benzies is not a random employee though

 

[Obliterator]

leslie benzies is not a random employee though

I mean I guess but.....it must be nice to have a job where you can just bail for 7 months and still expect to walk in like nothing happened.

This could still be a case of wrongful termination but that's a pretty bizarre work environment

 

[jelly]

Honest question but how can someone not go to work for over a year and expect for their keys to work and still be employed? I'm not saying it's OK he was fired or not but truly how is that possible?

Edit - looks like it was 7 months not a year. Still not sure how that all worked out though

It's not like he didn't turn up for work one day, they would agree to a sabbatical.

 

[8bit]

Honest question but how can someone not go to work for over a year and expect for their keys to work and still be employed? I'm not saying it's OK he was fired or not but truly how is that possible?

Edit - looks like it was 7 months not a year. Still not sure how that all worked out though

A 6 month sabbatical after shipping the biggest game ever doesn't seem that much of a stretch.

 

[Punchy4486]

Seems they applied too many notes from their games into real life

Benzies is the real CJ confirmed.

 

[Obliterator]

It's not like he didn't turn up for work one day, they would agree to a sabbatical.

A 6 month sabbatical after shipping the biggest game ever doesn't seem that much of a stretch.

I suppose that's fair. Must be nice

 

[PatzCU]

Sounds a bit like the Infinity Ward drama from several years ago. People get greedy and weird when the money stacks up that high.

 

[matrix-cat]

Are we still doing "Druckmann strikes again"?

 

[Nirolak]

I suppose that's fair. Must be nice

Consider this guy probably worked 100+ hour weeks for years given Rockstar, so that's more like a sabbatical that adjusts him to a somewhat normal work schedule.

Are we still doing "Druckmann strikes again"?

I feel that was actually handled reasonably. People left, the teams reshuffled, no one was publicly rude to each other, and there were no lawsuits.

This is what you normally expect out of a company when there are irreconcilable creative differences.

 

[LordAmused]

wow, this is disappointing as hell to me. Always held the housers in a high standard, and leslie was along with them in the rankings of rockstar responsible for making these phenomenal games. Why did this happen? They are working together for years, i don't understand what happened.

Yeah I agree. I always envisionned them as great guys, creative, friends.

Obviously big sucess don't have the same effect on everybody. Sad situation.

 

[Screaming Meat]

Christ. That's big news.

 

[Mac the KNife]

I'm confused why companies even do this. I can't think of a time this has happened in the game industry and the developer didn't get paid.

Just fire the people and give them their money to save all the legal fees and extra payments.

Ego.

The company is literally named Rockstar.

 

[Obliterator]

Consider this guy probably worked 100+ hour weeks for years given Rockstar, so that's more like a sabbatical that adjusts him to a somewhat normal work schedule.

I mean I hear you but do you think the rest of Rockstar North got that kind of time off? All the programmers who probably put in just as many hours? Something tells me no considering they had a giant title to support.

I'm not saying the guy deserved to be fired just commenting on the work environment, which has been widely reported is absolutely awful at Rockstar

 

[Gray Matter]

Are we still doing "Druckmann strikes again"?

I still want to know what went on there that Hennig had to leave and a lot of her work was scrapped, I don't think we'll ever know.

 

[Schnozberry]

The more I read about video games the more it becomes obvious that the business is a level of shady normally reserved for Pro Wrestling and Hollywood.

 

[Servbot #42]

I'm confused why companies even do this. I can't think of a time this has happened in the game industry and the developer didn't get paid.

Just fire the people and give them their money to save all the legal fees and extra payments.

Big companies ripping of people of their royalties is nothing new, remember Hollywood accounting? It's more rare in the video game industry since so few people get paid royalties, i can only remember the COD guys getting royalties or something like that.

 

[Glix]

I'm confused why companies even do this. I can't think of a time this has happened in the game industry and the developer didn't get paid.

Just fire the people and give them their money to save all the legal fees and extra payments.

It's an ego thing

 

[FloweryMarston]

Yeah I agree. I always envisionned them as great guys, creative, friends.

Obviously big sucess don't have the same effect on everybody. Sad situation.

seriously, not long after gta v released, they were awarded the hall of fame award and lifetime achievment by the baftas and dice awards. And he was there with the housers.

Seriously, i know that gta v was a monumental success, much higher than anything they made before, but i can't believe they are throwing a relationship and a talent like leslie away because of more money. I seriously can't understand why this is happening. Leslie was as much responsible for the success of gta v as the housers. Leslie was the president of rockstar north and by the credits of gta v, he was directly responsible for the overall structure of the game

 

[Phamit]

I mean I hear you but do you think the rest of Rockstar North got that kind of time off? All the programmers who probably put in just as many hours? Something tells me no considering they had a giant title to support.

I'm not saying the guy deserved to be fired just commenting on the work environment, which has been widely reported is absolutely awful at Rockstar

One of my class teachers went on a sabbatical year, after we graduated. Yes, it's a special thing, probably not every employee would get something like that

 

[Piers]

Hearing stories about how employees are suddenly not allowed back in to their work makes my stomach drop.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Wowsa

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

The more I read about video games the more it becomes obvious that the business is a level of shady normally reserved for Pro Wrestling and Hollywood.

"Sam Houser, whatcha gonna do when Leslie Benzies won't lay down for you?!"

 

[Cardon]

Shame to hear. Thought the situation was a bit more mutual than that. Probably will be settled and all, though I wonder how much longer Rockstar will be able to endure, not in terms of quality, but rather corporate structure and employee happiness.

 

[Simo]

More info?

According to a counter-suit filed by Take-Two and Rockstar, on March 23, 2015, Benzies demanded “exact financial parity” with the co-principals (Rockstar Founders Sam and Dan Houser). That letter was followed up on April 2, 2015, with notice of his resignation (nine months prior to news breaking of his departure).

Between April 2015 and January 2016 the parties have reportedly been attempting to settle the matter amicably. The dispute is over the terms of Benzies’ departure, which would directly impact his ability to claim against the royalty plan. According to Take-Two and Rockstar, Benzies is in breach of contract simply by disputing the determination of the royalty compensation committee.

Take-Two’s counter-suit is an endeavor to have the courts make a final determination about Benzies departure and his compliance with the contract. By extension, this would settle the matter of what, if anything, he is owed.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/...n-unpaid-royalties-take-two-counter-sues.aspx

 

[BinaryBear07]

Crazy, I wonder how this will affect the company going forward.

 

[Quentyn]

Brendan Sinclair from Gamesindustry.biz is tweeting details from the lawsuit.

https://twitter.com/BrendanSinclair/status/719927316466561024

 

[UrbanRats]

Man you already have millions, what's the point of getting into trouble to have a bit more, when you likely won't even notice?
I'm talking about R* and the Housers here.

Anyway, curious to see how this will go.

It's sad to see such an integral part of the GTA and R* history treated like that, though.

But then again, after R* spouse thing, I guess you raep what you sow.

 

[UrbanRats]

Brendan Sinclair from Gamesindustry.biz is tweeting details from the lawsuit.

https://twitter.com/BrendanSinclair/status/719927316466561024

Holy shit.

 

[Strife In a Teacup]

Damn, he's listed first for GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, 4, and 5 credits:

GTA 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HkLnZngG-E

Vice City:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkEd6jIWn2M

San Andreas
http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/Credits_(GTA_SA)

4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbmz7_PC6Yc

5:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAff_4s9Fsg

 

[Simo]

Full counter complaint from Take Two is here:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/308190056/Leslie-Benzies-v-Take-Two-and-Rockstar-Games

 

[RipperGrim]

TT are coming off pretty scummy here. GTA is earning them a ridiculous amount of money but it's still not enough?

 

[Fjordson]

Brendan Sinclair from Gamesindustry.biz is tweeting details from the lawsuit.

https://twitter.com/BrendanSinclair/status/719927316466561024

Wow lol.

This is a real shame that Benzies' tenure had to end like this. Especially if it's true that he wanted to return to working at R* after his time off. He's seemingly been right there with the Houser brothers since GTA III in building R* into the powerhouse it is today.

 

[pj]

Man you already have millions, what's the point of getting into trouble to have a bit more, when you likely won't even notice?
I'm talking about R* and the Housers here.

Anyway, curious to see how this will go.

It's sad to see such an integral part of the GTA and R* history treated like that, though.

But then again, after R* spouse thing, I guess you raep what you sow.

If you had, say, $50 million in the bank and believed someone owed you $150 million, you'd say "nah thats cool, you keep it"?

 

[Woo-Fu]

Man you already have millions, what's the point of getting into trouble to have a bit more, when you likely won't even notice?
I'm talking about R* and the Housers here.

Sounds like there is some bad blood. When you're pissed off it isn't about how much you'll gain it is about how much you'll deny the other guy. I'd say depriving somebody of 150m in royalties is one hell of a "fuck you" if you can get away with it.

I will advise anybody who is going on a corporate-endorsed sabbatical to make sure you have everything, and I mean everything in writing. Over that amount of time a lot of things can change, like, oh say, how the company perceives your value as an employee. You're not going to win a "What have you done for me lately?" contest.