So they screwed up, expect us to pay for their loss and then says we are the cheapskates?

How you tie those things together is astonishing.

They apparently screwed up, yes. You don't settle a lawsuit for $40m when you haven't done anything wrong. It sounds like they violated a non-compete which is hardly some huge moral violation. Many people believe that non-competes are kinda bullshit to begin, that employers can get them because their tech employees have no organization.

"Pay for their loss"? No, they expect you to pay for the game. Fact is, they already had the money to pay. They made a game that was good enough that they had the settlement in the bank. Now, that sucks for them that their profits, their warchest for future development, was just lost. But still, it was their money that they paid off the settlement with. They earned it.

"We are the cheapskates"? Yeah, that guy was. And if you begrudge $20 for what appears to be a huge game, then you are too. Some gamers are amazingly fucking entitled. They think that because one indie, one time, did something cool that every other dev and publisher should do the same. All games should be free, all DLC free, all perks skins etc. free. There are some shitty fucking gamers out there who have no idea how to value someone else's work.

"I won't pay." Good for you. Fuck off. Play some other game. As the dev said, nobody is holding a gun to your head. It's a real simple proposition - if you see the value in the game, you pay for it. That's it.