Rockstar responds to $150m lawsuit from former director

Last night, it was revealed that the former head of Rockstar North, Leslie Benzies, would be suing the studio for $150 million, claiming that Rockstar's founders essentially forced him out of the company and refused to pay for royalties following on from the success of Grand Theft Auto V. Since then, Rockstar has responded in its own statement, dismissing the lawsuit.

According to Rockstar, Benzies had some “significant performance and conduct issues” while at the company, while also claiming that this lawsuit was an attempt to wash over contract terms he'd previously agreed to.

“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.”

As of right now, that is all of the commentary Rockstar has to offer on the matter. We may here more once this gets to court but it is possible that we won't get the full story.

KitGuru Says: Rockstar usually keeps quiet when it comes to legal issues so unless any details become publicly available, we may not hear much else about this. 

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