Madden programmer wins $11M in EA Lawsuit

The original programmer of the Madden NFL football games has been awarded more than $11 million in a lawsuit with Electronic Arts. Programmer Robin Antonick alleged that he was owed royalties for several EA games published between 1990 and 1996, which EA broke contract to create.

According to the case, EA and Antonick signed several contracts, one of which was a 1986 agreement that required EA to pay "royalties on any derivative works related to the original version of EA Madden, including current annual releases, and prohibits EA from using his confidential information."

The lawsuit claimed that EA had failed to pay "millions of dollars" in royalties owed and broke the confidentiality agreement as required by the contract.

The jury ruled that multiple EA games published between 1990-96 used similar plays and formations, and were "virtually identical" to the original Madden NFL Football game, which was developed by Antonick. As a result of the verdict, Antonick is entitled to more than $11 million.

Antonick and his attorneys will also be appealing previous rulings that saw Super Nintendo games excluded and "fraud claims from the jury deliberations." The next phase of the trial will further determine whether Antonick is entitled to a payout for games published from 1997 to present, which have earned over $3 billion in revenue.