Bungie forced to pay $95k to ex-Halo, Destiny composer
Marty O'Donnell wins damages after departure from the company.
Halo and Destiny developer Bungie must pay $95,019 (around £56k) to former composer Marty O'Donnell, a US court has decided.
O'Donnell sued Bungie after his unexpected departure from the company back in May, when he claimed via Twitter he had been "terminated... without cause".
The 14-year Bungie veteran's pay-out will cover unpaid work, outstanding vacation time and a substantial amount of damages, VentureBeat reported.
Bungie stated at the time of O'Donell's departure that he and the studio had parted "as friends", although the timing of the move raised eyebrows - coming during the crucial final six months of development on Destiny.
"At Bungie we don't take that kind of thing lightly," chief operating officer Pete Parsons previously told Eurogamer. "We don't make those decisions lightly. We're a team that's committed to making an amazing game set in an amazing universe. At this time we won't be commenting any further on it."
When filing the suit, O'Donnell reiterated that he had still been given no explanation for being let go.
The court has now decided in his favour due to Bungie's employment rules on honouring unused vacation time, paid time off and other benefits.
O'Donnell's final work for Bungie can be heard in Destiny (and right now in the game's beta). It's unclear if he had already started scoring the game's upcoming expansions, or whether a new composer will be brought in instead.