Rock Band Creators Score $300 Million-Plus Payday
November 11, 2008, 16 years ago
Eric Krangel from Silicon Alley Insider is reporting:
When Harmonix founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy - the guys behind mega-hit games Guitar Hero and later, Rock Band - sold their company to Viacom's (VIA) MTV for a reported $175 million in 2006, the deal didn't end there. Turns out there was also an earnout agreement, where the pair gets a bonus if Rock Band did well. And Rock Band did very well.
Viacom paid the pair a bonus of $150 million this year under the agreement, the company says in financial statements. And the Harmonix founders have another payday due in 2009. Viacom:
In light of the success of the Rock Band video game series, the final payment is expected to exceed this year’s payment.
The game, which goes for about $190 on Amazon (with plastic instruments), sold 7 million copies last year. Gamers downloaded 26 million extra playable tracks for the game, with $5.49 for a three-song bundle being a typical price.
