Convicted *** criminal and alleged human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had extensive reach in the worlds of politics and entertainment. As indicated in newly released portions of the millions of emails colloquially known as the Epstein files, his reach extended into the gaming realm as well.
Although associations with Epstein are not proof of criminal activity, they carry over to the court of public opinion, regardless of guilt or innocence.
According to the newly released files, Epstein's connection to the gaming industry allegedly begins in 2012. More than a dozen emails sent in 2012 and 2013, allegedly between Epstein and former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, suggest the two had a relationship. These show the former attempting to set up meetings, and inviting Kotick to his private island.
"Drinks tomorrow my house 530?" Kotick allegedly wrote on April 29, 2012.
Epstein wrote, "Great... see you then i will bring 3or 4 . also I understand that Brian Grazer, like me ,searches for smart interesting people„ do you know him?"
Kotick allegedly responded later that day with, "Can we meet at 6? I am running late."
The correspondence allegedly continued the next day, with Epstein writing, "great house, great art, i am in ny 1-6 if you have time when you come."
Kotick allegedly responded with, "Thanks. Great guests. See you in NYC."
According to documents in the Epstein files, Kotick also allegedly corresponded via email with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child *** trafficking in 2021 for assisting Epstein by luring teenage girls to be abused by him in 2004.
Epstein and Kotick also allegedly corresponded about edutainment games--video games that try to entertain players while also teaching them something--and microtransactions.
"Video games are already great at teaching," Epstein wrote in an email allegedly to Kotick on May 2, 2023. "If they don't assess your level and put an appropriate challenge right in front of you, the game fails. Challenge too hard and you get frustrated and quit playing. Too easy and the game is no fun. That is exactly what a good teacher or tutor would do. Fundamentally the thing that works is a 1 to 1 student teacher ratio. Even if you have a shitty teacher or tutor, you will learn a lot because that person gets to know you and challenges you at your level. That doesn't scale, but computers do.
"So we have to use computers to replace teachers--or at least augment them. Today's video games don't try to teach stuff we care about. Well, except for shooting bad guys. The best scheme I've come up with so far is to use X-Prize or something like it to co-opt the existing video game industry. Give out a prize to the game that comes up with the best way of teaching kids anything from a normal school curriculum. Let them pick whatever they want to teach, any grade level, and just incorporate it into their product. That's the way to get the most brains and the most users for the least money. You want to skip convincing educators and parents about this stuff and just go straight for the kids."
"Edutainment is for p*****s," wrote Epstein. "It doesn't work. Once kids catch on that you are trying to teach them something, they shut down. We have to keep the boobs and guns and profits. You see how much video games are making these days? F*** educational reform. We need educational subversion!"
Kotick allegedly responded, "X prize is a good idea but key is real world rewards. Learn to read: earn cell phone minutes, iphone credits, virtual items in games."
Epstein later forwarded the email response, allegedly to futurist Pablos Holman, to further discuss the topic.
"I'm all for indoctrinating kids into an economy," Holman allegedly responded. "You gotta love how his =xample [sic] for 'real world rewards' is 'virtual items in games.'"
In 2018, Epstein's financial advisers put forth the idea of buying stock in Activision Blizzard prior to the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Subsequent emails appear to confirm Epstein's interest in making that purchase.
The recently released files also include mention of former Rockstar North head and Build A Rocket Boy founder Leslie Benzies and Rockstar Games president Sam Houser. Both names appear in a file that includes allegations by Epstein victim Sarah Ransome, who sued Epstein and Maxwell in 2017 for alleged *** trafficking. That suit was settled in 2018 with no admission of wrongdoing.
In the 62-page file, Ransome accuses former Rockstar North head and Build A Rocket Boy founder Leslie Benzies of sexual assault while they were in a relationship. She also alleges that Rockstar Games president Sam Houser turned a blind eye to the way that Benzies treated her.
"Sam Houser, you met me ample times when dating Leslie, and now the time has come about what you and your Rockstar North boys really get up to behind the scenes," said Ransome in the files. "I'm surprised there has yet to be a class action for you guys alone!!"
There is no evidence that federal investigators vetted the claims Ransome made in the document, and neither Benzies nor Houser are otherwise linked to Epstein in the files.
Benzies subsequently denied allegations of wrongdoing in a statement shared with Kotaku, in which he says, "These allegations are false, I had a 3 months consensual relationship with this person, and I have never met Jeffrey Epstein, nor have I ever visited his island, his properties, or travelled on his plane. Any suggestion otherwise is misleading."
Strauss Zelnick--the CEO of Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two CEO--is referenced in the Epstein files through a mutual friend, Leon Black. However, Zelnick doesn't appear to have a direct link to Epstein himself.
As reported by the New York Post, Epstein's Xbox account was permanently banned by Microsoft in 2013 because of his previous guilty plea to two felony prostitution charges. As part of those convictions, he was designated a *** offender by the State of New York. An email sent to Epstein by Xbox Live indicates that he was also removed for "harassment, threats, and/or abuse of other players" that was "severe, repeated, and/or excessive."
Epstein previously knew Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and apparently drafted a statement on behalf of Gates' science adviser Boris Nikolic that accuses Gates of extramarital affairs and added that Nikolic procured drugs to help Gates "deal with consequences of *** with Russian girls." A spokesperson for Gates issued a denial to those accusations.
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Although associations with Epstein are not proof of criminal activity, they carry over to the court of public opinion, regardless of guilt or innocence.
According to the newly released files, Epstein's connection to the gaming industry allegedly begins in 2012. More than a dozen emails sent in 2012 and 2013, allegedly between Epstein and former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, suggest the two had a relationship. These show the former attempting to set up meetings, and inviting Kotick to his private island.
"Drinks tomorrow my house 530?" Kotick allegedly wrote on April 29, 2012.
Epstein wrote, "Great... see you then i will bring 3or 4 . also I understand that Brian Grazer, like me ,searches for smart interesting people„ do you know him?"
Kotick allegedly responded later that day with, "Can we meet at 6? I am running late."
The correspondence allegedly continued the next day, with Epstein writing, "great house, great art, i am in ny 1-6 if you have time when you come."
Kotick allegedly responded with, "Thanks. Great guests. See you in NYC."
According to documents in the Epstein files, Kotick also allegedly corresponded via email with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child *** trafficking in 2021 for assisting Epstein by luring teenage girls to be abused by him in 2004.
Epstein and Kotick also allegedly corresponded about edutainment games--video games that try to entertain players while also teaching them something--and microtransactions.
"Video games are already great at teaching," Epstein wrote in an email allegedly to Kotick on May 2, 2023. "If they don't assess your level and put an appropriate challenge right in front of you, the game fails. Challenge too hard and you get frustrated and quit playing. Too easy and the game is no fun. That is exactly what a good teacher or tutor would do. Fundamentally the thing that works is a 1 to 1 student teacher ratio. Even if you have a shitty teacher or tutor, you will learn a lot because that person gets to know you and challenges you at your level. That doesn't scale, but computers do.
"So we have to use computers to replace teachers--or at least augment them. Today's video games don't try to teach stuff we care about. Well, except for shooting bad guys. The best scheme I've come up with so far is to use X-Prize or something like it to co-opt the existing video game industry. Give out a prize to the game that comes up with the best way of teaching kids anything from a normal school curriculum. Let them pick whatever they want to teach, any grade level, and just incorporate it into their product. That's the way to get the most brains and the most users for the least money. You want to skip convincing educators and parents about this stuff and just go straight for the kids."
"Edutainment is for p*****s," wrote Epstein. "It doesn't work. Once kids catch on that you are trying to teach them something, they shut down. We have to keep the boobs and guns and profits. You see how much video games are making these days? F*** educational reform. We need educational subversion!"
Kotick allegedly responded, "X prize is a good idea but key is real world rewards. Learn to read: earn cell phone minutes, iphone credits, virtual items in games."
Epstein later forwarded the email response, allegedly to futurist Pablos Holman, to further discuss the topic.
"I'm all for indoctrinating kids into an economy," Holman allegedly responded. "You gotta love how his =xample [sic] for 'real world rewards' is 'virtual items in games.'"
In 2018, Epstein's financial advisers put forth the idea of buying stock in Activision Blizzard prior to the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Subsequent emails appear to confirm Epstein's interest in making that purchase.
The recently released files also include mention of former Rockstar North head and Build A Rocket Boy founder Leslie Benzies and Rockstar Games president Sam Houser. Both names appear in a file that includes allegations by Epstein victim Sarah Ransome, who sued Epstein and Maxwell in 2017 for alleged *** trafficking. That suit was settled in 2018 with no admission of wrongdoing.
In the 62-page file, Ransome accuses former Rockstar North head and Build A Rocket Boy founder Leslie Benzies of sexual assault while they were in a relationship. She also alleges that Rockstar Games president Sam Houser turned a blind eye to the way that Benzies treated her.
"Sam Houser, you met me ample times when dating Leslie, and now the time has come about what you and your Rockstar North boys really get up to behind the scenes," said Ransome in the files. "I'm surprised there has yet to be a class action for you guys alone!!"
There is no evidence that federal investigators vetted the claims Ransome made in the document, and neither Benzies nor Houser are otherwise linked to Epstein in the files.
Benzies subsequently denied allegations of wrongdoing in a statement shared with Kotaku, in which he says, "These allegations are false, I had a 3 months consensual relationship with this person, and I have never met Jeffrey Epstein, nor have I ever visited his island, his properties, or travelled on his plane. Any suggestion otherwise is misleading."
Rockstar Games President Sam Houser and former GTA lead producer Leslie Benzies are mentioned in the newly released Epstein files.
Apparently, Sarah Ransome (an Epstein survivor) was dating Leslie Benzies in the early 2000s and met Sam through him. She accuses Leslie of abuse… pic.twitter.com/pC6EIfUFGW
— GTA 6 Countdown(@GTAVI_Countdown) January 31, 2026
Strauss Zelnick--the CEO of Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two CEO--is referenced in the Epstein files through a mutual friend, Leon Black. However, Zelnick doesn't appear to have a direct link to Epstein himself.
As reported by the New York Post, Epstein's Xbox account was permanently banned by Microsoft in 2013 because of his previous guilty plea to two felony prostitution charges. As part of those convictions, he was designated a *** offender by the State of New York. An email sent to Epstein by Xbox Live indicates that he was also removed for "harassment, threats, and/or abuse of other players" that was "severe, repeated, and/or excessive."
Epstein previously knew Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and apparently drafted a statement on behalf of Gates' science adviser Boris Nikolic that accuses Gates of extramarital affairs and added that Nikolic procured drugs to help Gates "deal with consequences of *** with Russian girls." A spokesperson for Gates issued a denial to those accusations.
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