Last month we reported that Duke Nukem Forever developers 3D Realms had shut down.
The closure of the studio potentially signified the end of Duke Nukem Forever, a highly anticipated title that had been in development since 1997.
Subsequent to the studio closing down Duke Nukem Forever art work and gameplay footage was leaked.
3D Realms had been developing the title for publisher Take-Two. Take-Two owns the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever and had reportedly offered 3D Realms $30million for the title in its current state, an offer which the developer rejected.
What followed was a series of contradictory allegations made by the various parties involved.
Take-Two recently published legal documents which have shed some light on the topic.
The Duke Nukem Forever development team was let go on May 6. 3D Realms explained that it could no longer afford to fund the project, largely as a result of Take-Two not supplying adequate funding.
Apparently Take-Two made an offer to purchase the Duke Nukem franchise along with the 3D Realms development team. 3D Realms rejected this offer stating that that it was “unacceptable”.
3D Realms demanded that Take-Two provide more funding for the project which was originally intended for release in 1998.
Take-Two refused to fund the entire project upfront because it had been delayed for so long. Instead the publisher offered to fund the first half of the project up front and to cover the second half of the development costs once the game had been completed. According to Take-Two 3D Realms rejected this offer.
3D Realms has countered that, after months of negotiations, Take-Two “Materially changed the parameters of the proposal of the funding agreement”. 3D Realms could not afford to continue to develop Duke Nukem Forever under the new agreement.
3D Realms claims that following its closure it then refused the offer that Take-Two made to buy the Duke Nukem franchise and development team as it was unacceptable.
While the game is no longer in development, Take-Two owns the complete development as well as publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever for consoles. An agreement made in 2000 allows Take-Two to use the completed Duke Nukem Forever source code to develop a console port independently of 3D Realms.
Take-Two supplied 3D Realms with $2.5 million in 2008. The publisher is now arguing that to compensate for the loss of this amount, 3D Realms should furnish them with the incomplete source code so that they can develop a console version of the game.
Take-Two goes on to claim that the investment it loaned 3D Realms was given on the condition that the developer would have to pay it back in full along with 7% interest per annum if the game was not delivered by October 2012.
Take-Two then states that it has reason to believe that 3D Realms has a substantial amount of funds deposited in an off shore-bank account. The publisher claims that 3D Realms could use these funds to clear its debt.
3D Realms has responded to Shacknew stating “Take-Two’s lawsuit is without merit and merely a bully tactic to obtain ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise.”
“Do readers here realize that filed lawsuits are entirely one-sided statements, based on knee-deep BS and with more spin than a top?
3DR has been in nearly a dozen lawsuits (including against Warner and Fox). We’re always innocent, and we always win. This one is no exception. Give it a year, then the truth will come out,” said 3D Realms founder Scott Miller.
As the saga continues it becomes less clear whether we will ever see Duke Nukem Forever in stores. At this point it seems that Take-Two is pushing hard for a console port of the game. The question is; does it count as a port if the original format is never released?
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