3D Realms Labels Take-Two Lawsuit 'Bully Tactic,' Reveals 'Unacceptable' Last-minute DNF Proposal

The remaining executives at Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms have responded to the charges levied against them by DNF publisher Take-Two, stating that 3DR never received funds from Take-Two for DNF until a payment in 2008.

3D Realms also sought to clarify reports that it had completely closed, saying that it is now planning to "regroup" as a company after spending nearly $20 million on the unfinished title in question.

"While 3DR is a much smaller studio now, we will continue to operate as a company and continue to license and co-create games based upon the Duke Nukem franchise," it said in a release.

"Take-Two never paid 3DR advances or any signing bonus or any other funds related to DNF, up until July 2008, at which time they paid $2.5m in connection with another agreement for an unannounced game," added the company. "This is the sum total Take-Two has paid 3DR in connection with DNF."

Take-Two filed suit against 3D Realms last week, claiming that it was owed "millions of dollars" after 3D Realms failed to finish DNF. The game had been in development for over 12 years until a "lack of funding" abruptly shut down production.

According to 3D Realms, Take-Two did eventually offer 3D Realms a "last minute" proposal to acquire the Duke Nukem franchise and the 3DR development team. 3DR says that it refused the offer, and claims that the deal included "no upfront money, no guarantee minimum payment, and no guarantee to complete the DNF game."

The release includes 3DR's take on the negotiation proceedings between the two companies:

Take-Two retains publishing rights for the DNF game, although 3DR retains certain rights to sell the game directly to the public. Late last year, 3DR began negotiations with Take-Two to provide funding to complete the DNF game. In the meantime, 3DR was hitting mutually-agreed milestones, despite not having a new agreement finalized. Take-Two was well aware that 3DR needed the funding to continue the DNF game development. Suddenly, after months of negotiations, Take-Two materially changed the parameters of the proposed funding agreement. 3DR informed Take-Two that it could not financially afford the changes Take-Two was suggesting and would be forced to release the team if an agreement was not reached.

Take-Two made a last minute proposal to acquire the Duke Nukem franchise and the 3DR development team. Take-Two's proposal was unacceptable to 3DR for many reasons, including no upfront money, no guarantee minimum payment, and no guarantee to complete the DNF game. From 3DR's perspective, we viewed Take-Two as trying to acquire the Duke Nukem franchise in a "fire sale." Those negotiations fell through on May 4th, a deal never materialized, and the DNF team was sadly released a few days later.

The full statement can be found here.