The lawsuit over the abandoned Duke Nukem project has finally been settled between developer Gearbox Software and video game publisher and developer 3D Realms, affording all ownership rights to Gearbox. No other terms of the settlement have been made public.
The battle over rights stemmed from the now-cancelled Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction, an isometric shooter game for PS4 and PC, which was originally announced in February 2014; 3D Realms (whose legal name is Apogee Software, Ltd.) had already granted a license to Danish developer Interceptor to create the game. The problem? Technically, Gearbox had the rights — which it acquired in 2010.
What ensued was a suit (Gearbox v. 3D Realms) and a countersuit (3D Realms v. Gearbox), with an acquisition of 3D Realms/Apogee Software by Interceptor thrown in the mix for good measure.
An official statement by 3D Realms CEO Mike Nielsen served as an apologia of sorts:
"When Interceptor acquired a license to develop Duke Nukem Mass Destruction from 3D Realms, we did so in good faith and were not aware of any conflict. We never intended to cause any harm to Gearbox or Duke, which is why we immediately ceased development after Gearbox reached out. To secure the future of Duke, 3D Realms has agreed with Gearbox that a single home serves the IP best."
Interceptor's CEO Frederik Schreiber also had some words – published in a different statement – regarding the game Duke Nukem Reloaded, which was also put on indefinite hiatus (and ultimately cancelled) over the lawsuit: "[It] was my own decision to pull the plug on Duke Nukem Reloaded, even though we were fully allowed to continue development."
On the bright side, we still have Bombshell, which features female protagonst Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison from the Duke Nukem universe; the game is set to drop sometime in late 2015.
Via: Polygon
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