Last year, a rather ugly discord between Leslie Benzies, former President of Rockstar North and producer on the GTA franchise, and Rockstar Games culminated in a lawsuit and the end of a long, long friendship. While news of the lawsuit happening was big at the time, the topic was sort of forgotten, with nary a follow-up. Now, Benzies has made it clear that he isn't out of the game.
It's true that with the justice system being what it is, this legal battle will likely stretch on for years to come. I'm no lawyer, but cases involving two wealthy parties and a whole lot of money tend to drag on as both sides are willing to put a lot on the line for victory. Add a personal grudge into the mix and there is no way they will settle.
Considering there are waiting times of months in between hearings, and with a case so complicated reaching back years, there is going to be a lot of them. In spite of being embroiled in such a legal battle, Benzies is clearly active and hasn't left the gaming industry behind. With the kind of experience he gained at Rockstar, it seems an obvious choice to stick to this medium.
Not only is Benzies sticking to gaming, but he's taking the industry by the storm. First reported by The Scotsman, the former Rockstar producer has incorporated not one, but several companies related to gaming, including what seems to be three different game development companies and another which will develop VR hardware.
Royal Circus Games Limited, Starship Group and Everywhere Game Limited are the names of the software development companies, while the hardware company is called VR-Chitect Limited. The first of the dev companies, Royal Circus, has already been submitted to the Intellectual Property Office identifying the development of console, PC and mobile games as its primary function.
As for what kinds of games Benzies will work on, we have no clue other than a cryptic trademark. Royal Circus Games has swiped the trademark for "Time for a New World" and the hashtag version, #TFANW. How a company can own a hashtag is beyond us, but IP laws are a confusing mess anyways.
Now, this trademark could be the name of an upcoming project for Benzies' new company, or it could even be a jab at Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive in that the "new world" is one when Benzies works in the gaming industry in a capacity unrelated to either company.
