Duke Nukem Forever might be facing another decade or two in the development pipeline but in the meantime, the legal hijinks are providing a decent source of entertainment for the casual onlooker. Take-Two’s court documents have now been aired in public, giving a clearer view of what’s been happening behind the scenes at Duke Nukem Forever HQ.
The complaint centres around 3D Realms’ alleged failure to deliver “the completed source code of DNF in a timely manner.” The trouble between the two companies started earlier this year when Take-Two sought to “exercise its option to develop a Console Version of [Duke Nukem Forever] for the Xbox 360.” However, no agreement was reached and Take-Two claims that 3D Realms instead shut down the project completely.
3D Realms’ take on the situation was revealed in an earlier press release that claimed it had to refuse the “last minute deal” because it simply couldn’t afford to continue development under the proposed agreement. According to the Duke Nukem Forever developer, there was “no upfront money, no guarantee minimum payment, and no guarantee to complete the DNF game.”
The notion of an Xbox 360 port is interesting (but, equally, not particularly surprising in an era where so many PC shooters are finding a home on Microsoft’s console), but not quite as intriguing as Take-Two’s allegations about 3D Realms’ financial situation.
The court document claims: “Upon information and belief, Apogee has title to a substantial amount of funds deposited in an off-shore account, which Take-Two believes Apogee can use to fund its outstanding obligations.”
Now Take-Two essentially wants to compel Apogee / 3D Realms to cooperate with the publisher so that it can complete the Xbox 360 version, as well as recovering the alleged $12m it has invested (looks like that’s the original $2.9m invested, plus interest) and to block former members of the Duke Nukem Forever from leaking any more of the game’s existing code and artwork.
We expect some fairly dramatic scenes when this case makes it to court. There’s even the possibility that Duke Nukem Forever could still see the light of day, but we’re not holding our breath.
