AIAS To Honor Three Rockstar Games Leads With Hall Of Fame Induction
At the D.I.C.E. awards to be held this Thursday in Las Vegas, three of Rockstar Games’ top minds will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hall of fame. Leslie Benzies, Sam Houser, and Dan Houser will become the 18th, 19th, and 20th inductees.
Sam and Dan Houser are the co-founders of Rockstar Games, and Benzies has been instrumental in Grand Theft Auto titles from Grand Theft Auto III on, leading the development at Rockstar North. The inductees will be presented by Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Harrison.
The AIAS chooses hall of fame honorees who have been crucial to the development of influential games. The Housers and Benzies will join Valve’s Gabe Newell, BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, PlayStation 4 lead architect Mark Cerny, and others.
If you are interested in watching the D.I.C.E. awards, Twitch will be streaming them at www.twitch.tv/dice. The ceremony will be hosted by Felicia Day and Freddie Wong.
Our Take
Grand Theft Auto titles have left an indelible mark on gaming culture. They popularized open world gameplay, inspiring other developers to build living environments for their heroes (and villains). After the release of Grand Theft Auto V, which sold $1 billion in its first three days, and yesterday's announcement that the label has sold 250 million copies of its games, the time is right to recognize the contribution of Rockstar’s top creators.