Take-Two and 3D Realms Go to Court over Duke Nukem Forever
Posted 05/17/09 at 01:28:27 AM by Nathan Grayson
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Duke Nukem Forever this, Duke Nukem Forever that. We might as well be beating a dead horse at this point, but at least we’re not suing one. That’s Take-Two territory right there.
Apparently, the publisher wasn’t too happy to hear that Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms decided to close up shop last week. Why? Well, according to Take-Two, 3D Realms breached its agreement to finish DNF when the big bad economic wolf finally blew it down. The agreement was probably made in 2007, though at that time, specific details weren’t made public.
"[3D Realms] continually delayed the completion date for the Duke Nukem Forever," said Take-Two in its complaint. "[3D Realms] repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever."
But the rabbit hole runs deeper. A quick dig through pertinent legal documents reveals that Take-Two is also attempting to pry Duke Nukem Forever’s source code from 3D Realms’ cold, mostly dead hands, and will probably go through with it if the publisher has its way in court. As of now, even though 3D Realms went under, it still holds onto its unfinished game.
Meanwhile, 3D Realms co-owner Scott Miller claims that Take-Two never actually paid the developer the $12 million needed to secure publishing rights for DNF – which, if true, renders much of Take-Two’s argument moot.
"No. We didn't get a penny of that money," Miller said. "This, along with so much else, is 100% spin, being eaten up by those who have no clue whatsoever."
Well, so much for the Duke Nukem Forever saga ending not with a bang, but a whimper. Expect more fireworks from Take-Two and 3D Realms in the coming weeks.
12 years of development
Submitted by Saltboy on Mon, 05/18/2009 - 4:24am
12 years of development screams of gross incompetance. How many game engines have come out in that time? I mean, we have seen two or three Unreal engines in that time and folks really thing DNF will be worth a crap?
The money all went to Infogrames ...
Submitted by QUINTIX256 on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 5:10pm
... for the publishing rights, not to 3D realms for development. Anyways, I don't think there is a case where a publisher successfully exploits and steals IP from an independent self funded developer in court. This is going to backfire. What is left of 3D realms is going to counter sue, and the result will be more than enough funds (far more than the relatively puny amount of 5 million 3DRealms requested) to finish the game.
Always bet on Duke.You can have your recession. I'm not participating.
Submitted by MeTo on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 3:37pm
If Take-Two would have paid the 12 million $ you would get Duke Nukem forever looks like Take-Two killed D.N.F. forever.
Linux Mint,Duel boot/Vista,AMD Athlon+ x2 5600,3 Gig ram,500 Gig HDD,ATI 1300 Video.
Submitted by blackdog on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 11:17am
Just finish it, from the material that has been released lately the game looked good and is worth finishing it off. Forget the b*@#$H*T and make the game.
Submitted by tehR0XX0Rz on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 6:19am
The developer's been stringing the public along for a dozen years. I, too, hope the publisher gets the game out.
LOL
Submitted by digital demon on Sat, 05/16/2009 - 10:57pm
I've read more about this game in the 2 weeks since it's been canceled than I did the 12 years it was in development. I hope Take-Two gets the rights, finishes it and releases one of the best games ever. It seems almost fitting at this point.
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