Marty O’Donnell, the Legendary composer responsible for the score of the original Halo trilogy, has settled his lawsuit against Bungie Chief Executive, Harold Ryan – O’Donnell’s former employer.

King County Superior Court judge Jeffrey Ramsdell in Seattle has reached an agreement in which Ryan will pay O’Donnell more than $95,000 in order to settle O’Donnell’s May lawsuit. As unfortunate a circumstance as it is, this lawsuit has given Bungie fans a deeper glimpse into the inner-workings of the Halo-turned-Destiny developer, and reminds us that these studios that we like to think of as our “friends” are in fact a business.

O’Donnell was fired on April 11th “without cause,” and his abrupt termination violated Bungie’s policy to pay employees any unused vacation/paid time off they had accumulated, as well as sabbatical time and other benefits. The suit was filed on May 1, and on May 27 Bungie and Ryan denied that O’Donnell was due any fiscal compensation.

Under the new agreement, Ryan will pay O’Donnell more than $38,385 in unpaid work and vacation time, as well as another $38,385 in double damages. Between these damages and the cost of the suit, the composer will be awarded a total of $95,019.13.

Martin O’Donnell was hired on at Bungie in May of 2000 and is responsible for producing one of the most iconic scores in gaming history, and arguably one of the most memorable features of Halo: Combat Evolved. I recently ran into O’Donnell at E3, and though I refrained from bringing up his lawsuit, I was sure to let him know that he has quite the passionate fan base, and that we’ll definitely be following him wherever he chooses to go next.

It’s a sad day when one of Bungie’s founders has to sue to get his deserved compensation, and it’s an even sadder day when the studio’s actions lead me to believe that they aren’t the same studio I fell in love with over a decade ago.

[via, Venturebeat]