From Gameinformer:

An Austin, Texas, court has awarded Ultima creator Richard Garriott $28 million over what it determined was his forced departure from NCSoft in 2008.

At the time of his departure, a letter was posted on the Tabula Rasa website saying he was leaving the company due to his interest in spaceflight (Garriott spent 12 days in space as a space tourist). In his legal complaint letter, Garriott said that although he approved the letter, in hindsight (after conversations with NCsoft’s head of North American studios, Chris Chung) he felt the letter was actually a set-up to try and prove that Garriott left of his own free will. Garriott says he never wanted to leave the company, and that he was forced out. This distinction is important, because Garriott’s assertion was that he lost $28 million in stock options simply because NCsoft claimed he left voluntarily versus being fired.

This story is lighting up the Twitterverse this morning, and I doubt it’s the last we’ll hear on the matter; NCsoft’s lawyers are already said to be working on their “next move” in what I’m sure will turn into a lengthy legal battle.

For myself, I just hope Garriott puts some of his winnings toward the Portalarium project and the development of a new title. He’s been talking about his ideas in this regard for some time, and it’d be nice to see them come to fruition.