EA and Zynga settle TheVille dispute out of court

The legal tussle between EA and Zynga appears to be over.

EA had launched a legal assault on Zynga over casual game TheVille, which it argued borrowed heavily from its own The Sims 3.

Zynga, in retaliation, launched its own lawsuit against EA alleging that EA CEO John Riccitiello had illegally prevented Zynga from hiring any of his existing employees.

Now both lawsuits have been dropped, presumably as a result of an out-of-court settlement. The terms of the mysterious agreement also mean that the cases cannot be revisited at a later date.

A Zynga statement issued to Gamasutra reads: "EA and Zynga have resolved their respective claims and have reached a settlement of their litigation in the Northern District of California."