Halo Composers Settle Lawsuit With Microsoft

Veteran Halo composers Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori sued Microsoft in 2020 over alleged unpaid royalties, and now that case has come to an end. O'Donell said on Twitter that he and Salvatori have "amicably resolved their differences" in the matter.

A March 24, 2022 filing with the United States district court of Washington State confirms as much. The court was informed of a settlement between the parties, so there is no further action required. "It is ordered that this action and all claims asserted herein are dismissed without prejudice and without costs to any party," the document says.

O'Donell/Salvatori and Microsoft have 60 days to reopen the case or start anew due to the settlement terms failing to stick. However, any pre-trial or trial dates originally set in this case are now vacated. United States Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson presided over the case.

O'Donell said he'll now be able to share more behind-the-scenes videos from the making of Halo games years ago. O'Donell previously shared an absolutely epic clip of guitar hero Steve Vai melting faces in the studio for Halo 2. O'Donell had to remove that video and others from his YouTube page due to the legal issue, but now that it's been resolved, the video and others are back online.

This was just the latest legal battle involving O'Donell and his music. He previously sued Bungie over Destiny music, and Bungie paid him $95,000 to settle, though that wasn't the end of the messy matter.

O'Donell now works for Highwire Games, the studio making the controversial military shooter Six Days in Fallujah, which has been delayed to late 2022.

As for the Halo series, Halo Infinite's big Season 2: Lone Wolves update arrives on May 3 with a new battle royale-like mode called Last Spartan Standing and multiple new maps.