Garriott wins $28m from NCsoft
Court agrees that he was fired, lost out.
Richard Garriott, the father of Ultima and creator of Tabula Rasa, has won his lawsuit against former employers NCsoft and been awarded $28 million by the jury in the case.
Garriott sued the Korean publisher for fraud last year, claiming he was fired, but that NCsoft had "re-characterised" his departure as voluntary.
This meant Garriott had to sell his stock options in a depressed market rather than hold on to them, which he claims lost him dozens of millions of dollars.
As The Austin-American Statesman reports, the court agreed and awarded the artist formerly known as Lord British $28 million in damages.
"I am extremely pleased with the jury's decision," he said in a statement. "The facts were clear that my departure from NCsoft was not voluntary. I am very pleased with the final award."
NCsoft said it would consider options for taking the matter further.
Garriott and his brother joined NCsoft when it bought their studio Destination Games during the development of Tabula Rasa. The sci-fi MMO flopped, and NCsoft informed Garriott that he was to leave shortly after his return to earth from a $20 million spot of space tourism. The game was discontinued a few weeks later.