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Duke Nukem Lawsuit Is Officially Over as All Sides Release Statements

Duke Nukem was one of the really popular FPS games back in the 90s and also had a reboot a couple of years ago with Duke Nukem forever. It was never really a game for me despite being a good game, it was just too colourful for someone as me coming from a heavy Wolfenstein, Terminator Rampage, Doom, and Quake environment. Even though the Forever game didn’t take off as some had hoped, it was a great game too and a future Duke Nukem game was set in motion in 2014 called Duke Nukem Survivor and later Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction..

However, those plans got scrapped as it came out that the legal grounds for the intellectual property weren’t clear and the project got renamed into Bombshell and pretty much any reference to Duke Nukem got removed from the game. It all turned into a large round of lawsuits that were settled back in May, but it isn’t until now that the three companies involved have issued public statements on the matter. Interceptor, the company behind Bombshell, had obtained permission for the new Duke Nukem project from the original developers, 3D Realms. But it turned out that 3D Realms didn’t own the rights to it at all, Gearbox did.

Long story short, Gearbox owns the right to the Duke Nukem franchise, Interceptor is working on Bombshell, and 3D Realms stand back as the original developers of the Duke Nukem game but with no involvement in the newer games. You can read the full statements below:

Joint Statement by Gearbox Software, 3D Realms and Interceptor Entertainment

Gearbox Software, 3D Realms and Interceptor Entertainment have resolved their differences; the parties have voluntarily ended all litigation between them.

From Mike Nielsen (3D Realms CEO): “When Interceptor acquired a license to develop ‘Duke Nukem Mass Destruction’ (‘Duke Nukem Survivor’) 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. And as big Duke fans, we’re excited to see what Gearbox has in store for the ‘King.’ As for our own games, we’re eager to complete development of the ‘Bombshell’ game and get it in the hands of our fans.”

Statement by Frederik Schreiber (Interceptor)

I’m really happy that the lawsuit between Gearbox, 3DR, and Interceptor has come to an end. Right now, I, along with my Interceptor colleagues, are busy making the finishing touches on “Bombshell.” We can’t wait until you guys can play it!

Now that the lawsuit is over, I’d like to say a few things about my history with Gearbox, and hopefully clear some things up. I’ve been a huge Duke fan for many years, and the original Duke Nukem 3D was a big influence on me and my career in this industry that I love.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Gearbox for allowing me to work on Duke Nukem Reloaded. I decided to cease production of Reloaded in 2011 to establish Interceptor and work on Rise of the Triad.

I want to make it clear now, once and for all – It was my own decision to pull the plug on Duke Nukem Reloaded, even though we were fully allowed to continue development. I respect Gearbox for supporting a young developer, and I’m glad we can now put this behind us.

I look forward to completing development on “Bombshell” and-as a long-time fan of Duke-I’m excited to see what Gearbox has in store for the ‘King’!

Statement by Gearbox

Gearbox Software has voluntarily ended its litigation against Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms, and wishes to keep the terms of its settlement confidential except to confirm that Gearbox Software is the full and rightful owner of the Duke Nukem franchise.

Gearbox Software appreciates the sentiments from Interceptor and 3D Realms’ representatives. Gearbox Software President Randy Pitchford said, “I genuinely appreciate Mr. Nielsen’s and Mr. Schreiber’s statement and sincerely offer my best wishes to Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms towards their future success and, as someone who was part of the 3D Realms team when Bombshell was first imagined, I am excited to see what they have in store for us with their game.