Skip to main content

Marty O'Donnell and Microsoft's Halo music lawsuit "amicably resolved"

Harmony.

Halo music composer Marty O'Donnell has said his lawsuit against Microsoft over unpaid royalties has now been "amicably resolved".

Eurogamer revealed details of the legal action from O'Donnell and fellow composer Mike Salvatori back in February, in which the pair claim they are owed credit and compensation for Microsoft's continued use of Halo music over the past two decades.

An upcoming court date had been set - something this new development sounds like it will now avoid.

Watch on YouTube

"Looks like I'll be able to share some of those videos once again!" O'Donnell wrote on Twitter, referring to an old YouTube clip of a Halo 2 recording session.

"Microsoft and O'Donnell/Salvatori, Inc., are pleased to have amicably resolved their differences."

Back in February, O'Donnell and Salvatori detailed their lawsuit - which in a nutshell boiled down to whether the pair composed their famous music while as a formal part of Bungie or workers for hire.

O'Donnell and Salvatori claimed it was the latter - and that Microsoft was continuing to use it in some form or other without credit or compensation.

The pair said they were angered by the recent release of Halo Infinite, which did not credit them as original composers for some of the franchise's main themes. They also said they were exploring, through lawyers, a way to block the release of the ongoing Paramount+ Halo TV show.

"I feel disrespected," Salvatori told Eurogamer in a phone interview.

"They're about to broadcast the Halo TV show and are using our monk chant (calling it the theme to Halo) to also advertise and solicit subscriptions for Paramount+," O'Donnell added.

Terms of the pair's "amicably resolved" solution with Microsoft have not been stated.

We've contacted Microsoft for more.

Read this next