GTA 6: Leslie Benzies, the GTA V producer who left in 2016

Leslie Benzies, born January 17, 1971 in Aberdeen, Scotland, was president of Rockstar North and lead producer of Grand Theft Auto from GTA III in 2001 to GTA V in 2013. He left the Edinburgh studio in January 2016, and that exit is why Rob Nelson and Aaron Garbut lead the team making Grand Theft Auto VI, due November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Year	Game	Role, per Wikipedia
1998	Space Station Silicon Valley	lead programmer
2001	GTA III	producer
2002	GTA Vice City	producer
2004	GTA San Andreas	producer
2008	GTA IV	producer
2010	Red Dead Redemption	executive producer, lead designer
2013	GTA V	producer, game designer

When he joined DMA Design, Rockstar North’s original name, depends on who you read. Wikipedia says 1995. Kotaku says 1999. Rockstar’s own statement in January 2016 thanked him for “the last 15 years,” which fits the later date better.

The 2016 exit

Asked by Kotaku whether he was back from leave, Rockstar replied on January 12, 2016:

We can confirm that Leslie Benzies went on sabbatical on September 1, 2014 and has decided not to return to work for the company.

The studio passed to Aaron Garbut and Rob Nelson, two in-house art directors, and GamesIndustry.biz still named them co-heads on August 28, 2026.

The timing matters for GTA 6. Nelson told TroisCouleurs on August 27, 2026 that “the game’s been in development since 2015.” Benzies had been on leave for months by then, no published source credits him with any part in the game, and the story of how the project began never mentions him.

The Take-Two lawsuit

On April 12, 2016, Benzies sued Rockstar Games and Take-Two for $150 million in royalties, resting his case on a 2009 profit-sharing deal signed when he became a “Rockstar Principal.” On March 29, 2018, the New York Supreme Court threw out 12 of his 18 claims: the deal provided for “discretionary royalty payments,” GamesIndustry.biz reported, though Benzies “remains entitled to receive certain royalties.” The case ended in a confidential settlement on February 7, 2019.

Build a Rocket Boy

His new studio started out as Royal Circus Games and dropped the name in October 2018, after Rockstar threatened legal action over an acronym, RCG, it found too close to RSG. In September 2020 he raised £32 million ($40.8 million) for Everywhere. The studio’s first game, MindsEye, launched on June 10, 2025. By July 3, VGC counted Metacritic scores of 38 on PC and 28 on PS5, with around 300 staff told their jobs were at risk.