Viacom suing Harmonix for $131M USD

Viacom is suing shareholders of music game developer Harmonix for $131M, because the publisher claims “earn-out payments” made in its 2006 acquisition of the studio, intended to keep Harmonix management locked in after the deal was done, were miscalculated.

In essence, of the original $150 million investment made for the developer, Viacom wants all but $19 million of that back.

This suit is sort of a bit of tit-for-tat, since it follows Harmonix’s own lawsuit last year when the developer claimed it was owed more than $13 million by Viacom on account of alleged unfair business practices.

Back in January, Viacom sold Harmonix back to its management for $50 as a tax write-off, after the studio made losses of around $65 million in a single financial quarter.