Halo Composers Say They Settled Lawsuit With Microsoft

In February, it came to be known that Halo composers Marty O'Donnell and Mike Salvatori who formed their own music company claimed alleged unpaid royalties from Microsoft for using the famous Halo soundtrack in the video game franchise for 20 years. According to the composers, the lawsuit was filed back in 2020.

On Tuesday, O'Donnell posted a tweet saying that Microsoft and O'Donnell/Salvatori, Inc., are finally "pleased to have amicably resolved their differences".

The long-running lawsuit between Microsoft and the music company alleged that Microsoft did not correctly pay royalties to O’Donnell and Mike Salvatori. The lawsuit could have even affected the release of the new Halo TV series, on Paramount Plus. A pre-trial date was set for May 9, 2022, however now, the proceedings apparently will be called off as a result of the settlement.

The musician didn't specify under what conditions Microsoft and O'Donnell/Salvatori, Inc. were able to come to an agreement. It is currently unclear whether O'Donnell and Salvatori are now owed regular payments or some kind of lump sum.

Along with the announcement, the composer shared footage of the Halo 2 soundtrack recording, when he worked in the studio with Nile Rodgers and Stephen Vai. O'Donnell also said that thanks to the resolution of disagreements with Microsoft, he will again be able to publish similar behind-the-scenes videos related to his work on music for the Halo series.