Facebook reaches settlement with ZeniMax over VR technology

USA TODAY
Zuckerberg dons an Oculus Rift at Connect to interact
Zuckerberg dons an Oculus Rift at Connect to interact

ZeniMax Media announced it has settled its lawsuit against Facebook disputing how the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset was created.

Last year, a jury in Dallas ruled Facebook owed ZeniMax $500 million after the gaming company alleged much of the technology used to power the VR headset included their intellectual property.

The damage was later reduced to $250 million. As an appeal was pending, both sides agreed to an undisclosed settlement, ZeniMax said in a statement.

"We are pleased that a settlement has been reached and are fully satisfied by the outcome," said Robert Altman, chairman and CEO of ZeniMax, in a statement.

"We’re pleased to put this behind us and continue building the future of VR," said Facebook in a statement obtained by USA TODAY.

The Maryland-based gaming company, which owns Bethesda Softworks and id Software, initially sought $4 billion from Facebook, which acquired Oculus for nearly $3 billion in 2014.

Id Software co-founder, now Oculus CTO John Carmack shows off a virtual reality headset prototype at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in L.A. on June 5, 2012.
Id Software co-founder, now Oculus CTO John Carmack shows off a virtual reality headset prototype at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in L.A. on June 5, 2012.

When the lawsuit was filed in 2014, ZeniMax alleged founder Palmer Luckey used their technology created "after years of research and investment."

At the time, Oculus released a statement saying the lawsuit had no merit.

At issue was Luckey's work with John Carmack, the co-founder of games studio id Software who helped with the Oculus headset. Carmack eventually left ZeniMax to go work full-time for Oculus.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Facebook reaches settlement with ZeniMax over VR technology