Richard Garriott, the game designer widely known as Lord British, has successfully sued his former employer NCsoft in Austin District Court, winning a $28 million USD award that's just over half of the $48 million he had requested, reports GamePron. Though NCsoft calls Garriott's 2008 departure "voluntary," he contends he was fired, and was forced to liquidate his stock options on more than 400,000 NCsoft shares amid the global financial meltdown, in spite of an agreement that he would have up to a decade to sell the stock in the event he was fired. The court sided with Garriott, and the payout represents the lost value on that stock sale. NCsoft "will be considering all options for next steps in the legal process," according to a spokesperson. As for Lord British, "I am extremely pleased with the jury’s decision, he says. "The facts were clear that my departure from NCsoft was not voluntary. I am very pleased with the final award."