Oculus CTO and id Software co-founder John Carmack has re-opened the legal feud between Oculus and Zenimax Media, bringing a $US22.5 million lawsuit against the company.
The games industry legend is suing ZeniMax over the sale of his company id Software. Carmack claims that he is still owed a total of $US22.5 million from ZeniMax’s purchase of the Doom studio in 2009.
According to Carmack, he was set to receive a promissory note valued in excess of $US45 million as part of the $US150 million deal. He swapped half of that value for ZeniMax common stock in 2011, but alleges that the company is now refusing to pay him the rest of the money or let him convert it into stock options.
While it follows hot on the heels of another legal dispute between Carmack and his former employers, the two cases are not directly linked. ZeniMax recently sued Carmack, along with Oculus, its founder Palmer Luckey, CEO Brendan Iribe and parent company Facebook, over claims that Carmack stole ZeniMax IP in order to help develop the Oculus Rift. Facebook was ordered to pay ZenimMax $US500 million after the court found Oculus used ZeniMax computer codes, but ZeniMax has also requested an injunction stopping Oculus from selling the Rift.
In Carmack’s lawsuit, first reported by the Dallas Morning News, ZeniMax stated that the aforementioned dispute is the reason it is not paying up. Carmack’s claim noted that not only did ZeniMax not charge him with breach of contract, Oculus was also acquitted of stealing trade secrets.
“When ZeniMax bought id Software in 2009, it agreed to pay a total of $US150 million for that purchase. Now that the final installment of that bill is coming due, ZeniMax is simply refusing to pay,” the lawsuit said. “But sour grapes is not an affirmative defense to breach of contract.”