Kill. Or be killed. There is not always much room for mercy - or even the law - in Grand Theft Auto.

This is, after all, is the video game where players can race stolen cars before picking up virtual prostitutes and - for extra points - running them over.

The real world might have more rules. But it has also proved pretty tough for Leslie Benzies, the Aberdonian who masterminded GTA, and his former bosses.

Mr Benzies first start building up the team which created the game’s third version nearly 20 years ago. And he did so in Scotland rather than the kind of North American ghetto of fast-food joints, skyscrapers and endless stop lights featured in the digital world of Grand Theft Auto.

But Mr Benzies split with Edinburgh-based Rockstar North in 2016 after a sabbatical announced in 2014. It all sounded very chummy at the time. Rockstar, in an official statement, said: “Leslie helped us build an incredible team that will continue to create great experiences for our fans.

“Leslie will always be a friend to the company and of course we are going to miss him but we wish him the absolute best for the future.” Scroll forward a few months and the mood had changed. Mr Benzies claimed he was “enticed” to go on sabbatical and had discovered he was locked out of Rockstar when he tried to return in 2015. He sued, claiming $150m in royalties. That bid suffered a setback last year when a US court decided he was not due an “equal” share of royalties with partners. The action, however, continues.

The latest row focuses on Mr Benzies’ new ventures. His old colleagues at Rockstar North have warned him off from what they see as poaching his old team.

Mr Benzies new firm - now called Build a Rocket Boy Ltd - has a new game under development. Called Everywhere, it will aim to be even more immersive than GTA.

Rockstar has not been idle either. Its developers are currently perfecting a game called Red Dead Redemption 2. A new Grand Theft Auto - the sixth in the series - has also been promised.

The fifth, produced by Mr Benzies, was the biggest game launch ever. Released in 2013, it had made $6 billion by April 2018. That makes it one of the most commercially successful entertainment products of all time.

All this from a modest concept first developed by DMA Design, now renamed Rockstar North, in Dundee two decades ago.