Now Viacom sues former Harmonix shareholders

Viacom is taking ex-shareholders of Rock Band developer Harmonix to court, following a lawsuit filed against the firm itself last year.

The former parent company of Harmonix and owner of MTV claims that previous Harmonix shareholders owe it over $131m, reports Gamasutra. Viacom claims this is a refund” of the near $150m it paid to shareholders in anticipation of 2007 earn-out bonuses.

It says this was a preliminary calculation” and claims the actual pay-out figure should have been around $18m, which it is now seeking.

The news comes after Harmonix filed a lawsuit against Viacom late last year. Former shareholders of the US-based developer – including founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozny –allegedly claimed Viacom manipulated costs” to try and avoid paying out performance-based bonuses it previously promised. This case is still ongoing.

Viacom sold Harmonixearlier this year after disappointing sales of Rock Band 3, as the studio effectively went independent. It is now owned by Harmonix-SBE Holdings, an affiliate of private investment firm Columbus Nova.