Leslie Benzies

Last updated

Leslie Benzies
Leslie Benzies @ Everywhere Game.jpg
Born
Leslie Peter Benzies

(1971-01-17) 17 January 1971 (age 53)
Aberdeen, Scotland
Occupations
Years active1995–present
Children1 [1]
Awards AIAS Hall of Fame Award (2014) [2]

Leslie Peter Benzies (born 17 January 1971) is a Scottish video game producer and the former president of Rockstar North, a subsidiary of Rockstar Games. He was the lead developer on the Grand Theft Auto series, taking responsibility from Grand Theft Auto III to Grand Theft Auto V (including Grand Theft Auto Online ). Benzies left Rockstar in 2016, and was in a lawsuit with its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, over unpaid royalties from April 2016 to February 2019.

Contents

Early life

Benzies was born in Aberdeen but moved to Elgin when he was young. When Benzies was 11, his father Leonard purchased a Dragon 32 computer. Benzies taught himself how to program and wrote his first game. [3]

Career

Benzies' professional career as a video game programmer began in 1995 at DMA Design (now Rockstar North), where he was team lead developing the Nintendo 64 video game Space Station Silicon Valley . This game was released in October 1998, after which he started assembling the team that would create Grand Theft Auto III .

In 2005, he and Sam Houser, President of Rockstar Games, received a BAFTA Special Award. [4]

In June 2014, he announced a deal to purchase the St Stephen's Church in Stockbridge, Edinburgh for a little over £500,000. [5] He plans to preserve the building and create a trust composed of members of the community to manage it. [6]

Benzies took sabbatical leave from Rockstar on 1 September 2014. In January 2016 it was announced that he had left the company. [7] Benzies later claimed that he was persuaded to take the sabbatical, during which his son and several of his friends were fired from the company and his email access was suspended; when he attempted to return to work, he was ordered to leave by the office manager and says that the company made "scurrilous allegations" about his actions at work. [1] On 12 April 2016, Benzies started legal action against Rockstar Games and its parent Take-Two Interactive claiming $150 million in unpaid royalties. [1]

In January 2017, he set up five new companies including Royal Circus Games which intends to develop games for consoles, PCs and mobile devices. [8]

On 29 March 2018, Benzies' litigation against Rockstar and Take-Two suffered a significant setback when the companies succeeded in dismissing 12 out of 18 of his claims, though the court did rule that Benzies "remains entitled to receive certain royalties" as part of his compensation. [9] [10] [11] On 7 February 2019, Benzies's litigation with Take-Two ended with a confidential settlement. [12] [13]

On 1 October 2018, it was announced that Benzies' new company was called Build a Rocket Boy Games. [14] The company has raised £32 million from investors in China and New York for its upcoming game Everywhere. [15] Its first game, MindsEye, is set to be published by IO Interactive. [16]

Works

YearGame titleRole
1998 Space Station Silicon Valley Lead programmer [17]
2001 Grand Theft Auto III Producer [18]
2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Producer [19]
2003 Manhunt Producer, development director
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Producer
2005 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Producer
2006 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Producer
2007 Manhunt 2 Producer
2008 Grand Theft Auto IV Producer
2009 Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned Producer
2009 Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Producer
2009 Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony Producer
2010 Red Dead Redemption Executive producer, lead designer
2011 L.A. Noire Executive producer
2012 Max Payne 3 Executive producer
2013 Grand Theft Auto V Producer, game designer [20]
TBAMindsEyeGame director
TBA Everywhere Designer, director

Related Research Articles

<i>Grand Theft Auto: Vice City</i> 2002 video game

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2001's Grand Theft Auto III, and the sixth entry overall. Set in 1986 within the fictional Vice City, the single-player story follows mobster Tommy Vercetti's rise to power after being released from prison and becoming caught up in an ambushed drug deal. While seeking out those responsible, Tommy gradually builds a criminal empire by seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take-Two Interactive</span> American video game holding company

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar Games</span> American video game publisher

Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Founding members of the company were Terry Donovan, Gary Foreman, Dan and Sam Houser, and Jamie King, who worked for Take-Two at the time, and of which the Houser brothers were previously executives at BMG Interactive. Sam Houser heads the studio as president.

<i>Grand Theft Auto III</i> 2001 video game

Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 1999's Grand Theft Auto 2, and the fifth instalment overall. Set within the fictional Liberty City, the story follows Claude, a silent protagonist who, after being left for dead by his girlfriend during a robbery, embarks on a quest for revenge leading him to become entangled in a world of crime, drugs, gang warfare, and corruption. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Its open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar North</span> British video game developer

Rockstar North is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Edinburgh. The studio is best known for creating the Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto series, including Grand Theft Auto V, the second-best-selling game and most profitable entertainment product of all time.

<i>Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</i> 2004 video game

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fifth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2002's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and the seventh entry overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, the game follows Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns home after his mother's murder and finds his old street gang has lost much of their territory. Over the course of the game, he attempts to rebuild the gang, clashes with corrupt authorities and powerful criminals, and gradually unravels the truth behind his mother's murder.

<i>Grand Theft Auto</i> Video game series

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North, and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games. The name of the series is a term for motor vehicle theft in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar Leeds</span> British video game developer

Rockstar Leeds Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Leeds. Ian J. Bowden, Dave Box, Gordon Hall, and Jason McGann founded the company as Möbius Entertainment in December 1997 after working together at the studio Hookstone. Möbius worked with SCi on two games: Alfred's Adventure, a remake of Alfred Chicken, and the cancelled Titanium Angels. Starting in 2001, the studio created Game Boy Advance games for several publishers, including multiple for The 3DO Company and Max Payne for Rockstar Games.

<i>Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories</i> 2005 action-adventure game

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 action-adventure game developed in a collaboration between Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games. The ninth installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, it was initially released as a PlayStation Portable exclusive in October 2005. A port for the PlayStation 2 was later released in June 2006. At the time of release, the recommended retail price of the PS2 port was around half the price of the PSP version, because the PS2 version does not feature the custom soundtrack ripping capability of the PSP version. Ports for iOS, Android and Fire OS devices were also released in December 2015, February 2016, and March 2016, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot Coffee (minigame)</span> Minigame in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

"Hot Coffee" is the unofficial name for a minigame in the 2004 action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by Rockstar Games. While it was not playable in the official game release, the modding community discovered hidden code that, when enabled, allows protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson to have animated sexual intercourse with his in-game girlfriend.

<i>Grand Theft Auto IV</i> 2008 video game

Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the eleventh entry overall. Set in the fictional Liberty City, based on New York City, the single-player story follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and the neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Houser</span> English video game producer (born 1971)

Sam Houser is an English video game producer. He is a co-founder and the current president of Rockstar Games, and is one of the creative driving forces behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, having been its producer since the third game. His brother Dan was Rockstar's vice president of creativity until 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Houser</span> English video game producer (born 1973)

Daniel Houser is an English video game writer and producer. He is one of the co-founders of Rockstar Games alongside his brother Sam Houser. He served as the head writer and vice president of creativity until his resignation in 2020. His brother is the current president of Rockstar Games.

<i>Grand Theft Auto: London 1969</i> Mission pack for Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto Mission Pack #1: London 1969 is an expansion pack for the 1997 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto, developed by Rockstar Canada and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for personal computers and the PlayStation in April 1999. The expansion adheres to the same gameplay mechanics of the main game and takes place in a fictionalised version of London during the 1960s. Players assume the role of a criminal who works for several London-based crime syndicates, and complete levels by achieving a set score, within an open world environment that allows them to do whatever they wish alongside jobs to achieve their goal.

<i>Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars</i> 2009 video game

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a 2009 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar Leeds in conjunction with Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. The game was released for the Nintendo DS in March 2009, PlayStation Portable in October 2009, iOS in January 2010, and Android and Fire OS devices in December 2014. It is the thirteenth game in the Grand Theft Auto series and a follow-up to Grand Theft Auto IV, and is the first entry to be released for handheld consoles since 2006's Vice City Stories. Set within modern-day Liberty City, the single-player story follows young Triad member Huang Lee and his efforts to recover a sword gifted by his late father after it is stolen from him, while inadvertently becoming caught in a power struggle amongst Liberty City's Triads.

<i>Grand Theft Auto V</i> 2013 video game

Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, and the fifteenth instalment overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three protagonists—retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street gangster Franklin Clinton, and drug dealer and gunrunner Trevor Philips, and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. Players freely roam San Andreas's open world countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.

Development of <i>Grand Theft Auto V</i> Development of 2013 video game

A team of approximately 1,000 people developed Grand Theft Auto V over several years. Rockstar Games released the action-adventure game in September 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in April 2015 for Windows, and in March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The first main Grand Theft Auto series entry since Grand Theft Auto IV, its development was led by Rockstar North's core 360-person team, who collaborated with several other international Rockstar studios. The team considered the game a spiritual successor to many of their previous projects like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. After its unexpected announcement in 2011, the game was fervently promoted with press showings, cinematic trailers, viral marketing strategies and special editions. Its release date, though subject to several delays, was widely anticipated.

<i>Grand Theft Auto</i> modding Modification in the video game series

User modification, or modding, of video games in the open world sandbox Grand Theft Auto series is a popular trend in the PC gaming community. These unofficial modifications are made by altering gameplay logic and asset files within a user's game installation, and can change the player's experience to varying degrees. Frequently created by anonymous modders, modifications are presented in the form of downloadable files or archives. Third-party software has been indispensable for building Grand Theft Auto mods, due to the lack of official editing tools from the developer, Rockstar Games. Mods for Grand Theft Auto are generally developed for use on the PC versions of the games, since the platform does not prevent modifications to installed software; however, similar content for console and mobile phone versions does exist to an extent.

<i>Everywhere</i> (video game) Upcoming video game

Everywhere is an upcoming massively multiplayer online game and game platform with an integrated game creation system developed by Build a Rocket Boy. It will be available on Windows on launch, with other platforms to come later.

<i>Grand Theft Auto VI</i> Upcoming video game

Grand Theft Auto VI is an upcoming video game in development by Rockstar Games. It is due to be the eighth main Grand Theft Auto game, following Grand Theft Auto V (2013), and the sixteenth entry overall. Set within the fictional open world state of Leonida—based on Florida—and its Miami-inspired Vice City, the story is expected to follow the criminal duo of Lucia and her male partner.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Campbell, Colin (14 April 2016). "The great Grand Theft Auto lawsuit explained". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "D.I.C.E Special Awards" . Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Bowditch, Gillian (27 April 2008). "Grand Theft Auto producer is Godfather of gaming". Sunday Times. Times Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Games: Special Award in 2005". BAFTA. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Rockstar North chief buys St Stephen's Church". Edinburgh News. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Phyllis Stephen (27 June 2014). "St Stephen's Church – future now assured". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  7. ↑ Klepek, Patrick (12 January 2016). "Rockstar North Boss Leslie Benzies Is Out After Nearly Two Decades". Kotaku . Gawker Media . Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Martyn, McLaughlin (21 January 2017). "Grand Theft Auto mastermind Leslie Benzies launches new companies". The Scotsman. The Scotsman Publications Ltd. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "We are Generation Apprenticeship". General Apprenticeship. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Benzies v Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc".
  11. ↑ "Former GTA producer suffers setback in $150m lawsuit against Take Two". 9 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Former Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies raises $40.8m toward new game". GamesIndustry.biz. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "LESLIE BENZIES, Plaintiff, v. TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, ROCKSTAR GAMES, INC., ROCKSTARNORTH LTD., DAN HOUSER, and SAM HOUSER, Defendants". New York Supreme Court. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "Home page". Build a Rocket Boy. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "Telegraph Tech Hot 100: The full 2020 list revealed". The Telegraph. 28 October 2020. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  16. ↑ Bailey, Kat (16 October 2024). "Hitman Dev IO Interactive Teaming With Ex-GTA Producer's Studio to Publish MindsEye". IGN . Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  17. ↑ "Leslie Benzies Video Game Credits and Biography".
  18. ↑ "The Top 7 Ways Grand Theft Auto III changed the face of gaming". gamesradar. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  19. ↑ "Exploring Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's lasting impact on society with Rockstar's Leslie Benzies". Digital Trends. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  20. ↑ Simmons, Alex (13 November 2012). "Grand Theft Auto 5's Unseen Mastermind". IGN. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.