Remember, in Game of Thrones, that Bronn only became Tyrion's champion for the money, not any sense of honor.
What if Bethesda finds it easier to hire 3 top Quake 3 players for 1k each to fight Notch and friends? They might find it easier than going through the lawsuit.
Some gamers might want to support the small indie guy and might offer their labour and skills to notch for free. Some might take the money and go help out the big guy. It would be like some medieval power struggle over a throne, with knights and dukes allying themselves to one side or the other. :)
The top Quake 3 players are probably good friends with - if not even themselves - hopelessly addicted Minecraft players. If this was id Software against Mojang, then maybe id had the leverage but Bethesda is not necessarily considered good by the Q3 community.
Well, okay, that's true (but not my primary point, since i've not read/seen Game of Thrones).
My point was that Bethesda is under no obligation to do this, and it's not clear to me that this would have legal binding. So in that sense they'd be accepting based on Notch's intentions (honorable or not), and I presume that Mojang would only agree based on their honorable intentions.
There are of course many ways to weasel out of straightforward agreements. That's why presidential debates are always so terrible.
That a contract has been drafted and signed, even in good faith, is only half the battle. It must also be enforced. The court can simply ignore some or all of a contract which is obviously unfair or exploitative to either party. Centuries of legislation and case law go into determining what sorts of clauses are, in fact, enforceable.
This is why you need a lawyer to draft a contract, and cannot just write whatever on a piece of paper and sign it. Even lawyers overreach, however; it's part of their job.
I think this idea is funny, but a future where legal disputes are settled by whoever is a better gamer/swordsman/chess player is moving back toward feudalism. Ideally, the winner of the legal dispute should have something to do with the merits of the case. I realize that there are weights on the scales of justice that are heavier for the one who has more money, but if it comes down to might-makes-right, the little guy really doesn't stand a chance.
Unfortunately the law does not promote honorable behavior.