EA has been ordered to pay the creator of the Madden football franchise millions in royalties and interest.

Earlier this year, Madden designer and developer Robin Antonick took the giant publisher to court, claiming that several of its early ‘90s Madden titles were identical to the original version he created in the ‘80s.

A contract between the parties required EA to pay Antonick royalties on any derivative works related to the original version of Madden, but he claimed it had failed to do so.

A US district court jury in northern California ruled in his favour, and EA must now pay him an estimated US$11m (NZ$13.79m).

“This is a tremendous victory,” said Antonick attorney Rob Carey.

“In many ways, this trial was a test of each party’s version of events. The jury uniformly rejected the idea that this game was developed without Robin’s work. It is, if nothing, a good omen for the next phase of the litigation.”

The ruling gives Antonick the ability to pursue similar claims against EA for Madden games released from 1997 onward, which have earned over US$3 billion in revenue.

”While we’re disappointed with the jury’s verdict and will appeal, this has always been a case about games from the early 1990s, and it has no impact on today’s Madden NFL franchise,” said EA.