Rockstar er blevet sagsøgt af deres forhenværende producer hos Rockstar North, Leslie Benzies. Benzies mener at han er blevet snydt for en række udbetalinger fra licensafgifter i 2009 og at grundlæggerne Sam og Dan Houser har søgt at få ham presset ud af firmaet, da han blev opfordret til at tage et sabbatår tilbage i 2014. Han mener at han i den forbindelse er blevet snydt for 150 millioner dollars. Rockstars udgiver, Take-Two Interactive, har startet en modaktion mod sagsanlægget.
Ifølge Rocktar har Leslie Benzies ikke noget at have det i, og de fortæller at hans opsigelse var grundet en række problemer med hans præstation og opførsel.
“Leslie Benzies was a valued employee of our company for many years. Sadly, the events that culminated in his resignation ultimately stem from his significant performance and conduct issues. Despite our repeated efforts to address and resolve these issues amicably both before and after his departure, Leslie has chosen to take this route in an attempt to set aside contract terms to which he previously agreed on multiple occasions. His claims are entirely without merit and in many instances downright bizarre, and we are very confident this matter will be resolved in our favour.
A core ethos since Rockstar’s inception has been the concept of ‘the team’. It is deeply disappointing and simply wrong for Leslie to attempt to take personal credit for what has always been the tremendous efforts of the entire Rockstar team, who remain hard at work delivering the most immersive and engaging entertainment experiences we can for our fans.
We do not intend to comment further on this matter.”
Benzies var lead producer og creative director for Grand Theft Auto-serien siden 1999, da de gik i gang med Grand Theft Auto III. Han agerede også direktør for deres Edinburgh-studie, Rockstar North der var meget involveret med udviklingen af GTA-serien.
Benzies’ sagsanlæg anklager blandt andet Sam Houser for at tro at Benzies ville overtage firmaet, da han eftersigende bedte om at få sit navn stående til sidst i GTA Onlines credits, stedet for Sam Housers navn har stået i alle andre Rockstar-spil.
Benzies’ advokatfirma, Locke Lord har udsendt følgende pressemeddelelse:
“Mr. Benzies’ removal after years of receiving compensation identical to the Housers was the product of what turned out to be a lengthy deception by Sam Houser. The complaint describes Sam Houser’s mounting resentments after many years of high praise.”