Richard Garriott.

MAY 6, 2009 • Richard Garriott filed a lawsuit against his former employer NCsoft. Garriott maintains he was terminated by the publisher, although NCsoft has classified the parting as a resignation by the developer best known for the Ultima RPG series. At stake is $24 million in stock options. If fired, Garriott has until 2011 to exercise those options. As a voluntary resignation, Garriott would have only 90 days for option execution – a period of time that has already passed.

Impact: NCsoft is still in the hunt for new hits to add to its MMO franchise list. Tabula Rasa wasn’t it, and it seems like the publisher’s relationship with Garriott toward the end was more acrimonious than previously known. The big question post-NCsoft is whether Garriott has another hit in him, and how much of his own fortune he is ready to wager to bring a career resuscitating game to market.