The legal battle between id Software co-founder John Carmack and current id Software owner ZeniMax has ended, though a related dispute between ZeniMax and Oculus rages on.
Carmack, who now serves as Oculus’ CTO, tweeted out yesterday that his “personal legal disputes are over” and that ZeniMax has “fully satisfied their obligations” to him following its 2009 purchase of id Software.
The personal legal dispute mentioned by Carmack refers to the $22.5 million lawsuit he filed against ZeniMax in 2017, alleging that ZeniMax violated an asset purchase agreement by dragging its feet when Carmack tried to convert a promissory note he received in the sale of id Software to ZeniMax shares.
At the time, Carmack said that he tried to convert the note into ZeniMax stock and then cash out his shares in the company, a sum that would’ve totaled $45.1 million combined with the sale of with his existing stocks, but that ZeniMax was not complying with the transaction in way that would’ve let the deal close before the guaranteed $45 per share was set to expire.
Now, Carmack says the issue has been settled though he does not offer specifics on the resolution reached. “My personal legal disputes are over,” reads the tweet. “ZeniMax has fully satisfied their obligations to me from the purchase of id Software, and we have released all claims against each other. (The appeal for Oculus still goes forward)”
The Oculus appeal meanwhile deals with an earlier dispute between ZeniMax, Oculus, and individuals related to the company that accused Oculus of building its flagship VR technology on tech and information illegitimately obtained from ZeniMax. The initial case on that issue concluded in early 2017, with the court awarding a total of $500 million to ZeniMax on the grounds of a broken NDA, copyright infringement, and false designation.
Oculus has since appealed the verdict that holds the company responsible for $200 million of the overall $500 million in damages, and that dispute seems to remain unresolved despite Carmack’s personal resolution.