An old 2002 Sierra dispute over licensing Valve games to cyber-cafes has raised its ugly head.  Sierra was originally owned by Vivendi who is now part of the Activision Blizzard family.

From Game Politics

The suit alleges that Activision refused to honor an agreement to abide by an arbitrator's April 6th award decision involving a 2002 dispute over royalties.

Against that backdrop, Activision cut Valve a check last week for $1,967,796 - the amount handed down by the arbitrator less the disputed $424K. According to Valve's suit, Activision said that it wouldn't pay the rest and if Valve went to court Activision would countersue.

The dollar amounts being thrown around seem to be on the trivial side for 2 well respected and regarded companies though luckily for now, Activision remains a Steam Publisher.