Leslie Benzies

Leslie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, but moved to Elgin when he was young. When he was 11, his father, Leonard, purchased a Dragon 32 computer. Leslie taught himself how to program and wrote his first game.[2]

Leslie’s 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 platform 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.[3]

In June 2014, he announced a deal to purchase the St Stephen's Church in Stockbridge, Edinburgh for a little over £500,000.[4] He plans to preserve the building and create a trust composed of members of the community to manage it.[5]

Benzies took sabbatical leave from Rockstar on 1 September 2014. In January 2016 it was announced that he had left the company.[6] On 12 April 2016, Leslie Benzies started legal action against Rockstar Games and its parent Take-Two Interactive claiming $150 million in unpaid royalties.[7]

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 1 October 2018 it was announced that Leslie Benzies' new company was called Build a Rocket Boy Games.[12]

On 7 February 2019, Benzies' litigation with Take-Two had officially come to an end.[13] All parties involved in the case successfully executed a confidential settlement, with each agreeing to bear its own costs and expenses, including, without limitation, attorney's fees.[14]