Since 2013, ZeniMax and Oculus have been embroiled in a legal conflict over the assistance provided by John Carmack (a former ZeniMax employee and the founder of ZeniMax-owned studio iD Software) to a prototype of the Oculus Rift (Facebook purchased Oculus VR in 2014). ZeniMax Media alleged that John Carmack had broken a non-disclosure agreement and shared confidential information with Oculus VR. Thanks to GamesIndustry.biz, we know that the long-stranding legal issues have been resolved and ZeniMax has settled its lawsuit against Facebook and Oculus.
A judge had previously found the claims by ZeniMax to be valid and ordered Facebook to pay $500 million. This amount was halved and until recently Facebook had been seeking further appeals.
ZeniMax CEO and Chairman Robert Altman stated that “We are pleased that a settlement has been reached and are fully satisfied by the outcome. While we dislike litigation, we will always vigorously defend against any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third parties.”
The settlement’s terms have not been publicly disclosed and as yet a representative for Facebook has not provided comment on the situation.
ZeniMax Media is the parent company of multiple game development studios, including Bethesda Game Studios, who expanded to four studios earlier this year.
