Duke Nukem Forever lawsuits dropped

Publisher Take-Two Interactive and developer 3D Realms/Apogee have jointly agreed to dismiss lawsuits which would have prevented further development of Duke Nukem Forever.

The first lawsuit was first brought by Take-Two in May 2009, as the company attempted to sue 3D Realms (and legal entity Apogee Software) for the continued delay of Duke Nukem Forever - which was first announced over a decade ago.

3D Realms then attempted to countersue Take-Two, claiming that the company had cancelled development of separate game Duke Begins without its consent.

However, a brief court document uncovered by website Shacknews suggests that the two companies have reached an agreement, although under what circumstances is unclear.

The filing merely indicates that, "The above action, including any and all claims that were or could have been asserted by the parties, is dismissed with prejudice in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement".

The nature of the filing means that neither party can file another lawsuit with a similar claim, apparently leaving no legal barrier to either game's eventual release.

Take-Two's lawsuit was precipitated by rumours of the closure of 3D Realms last May. Although these later proved to be incorrect the developer was forced to let go a number of the development staff and work on the game was halted.

"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," said a statement at the time.

3D Realms also denied that Take-Two had paid the company any advance for the release of the game, although it did acknowledge that Take-Two retains the publishing rights for Duke Nukem Forever - although not the rights to the character.

After more than a decade in development Duke Nukem Forever has acquired a mythical, if not farcical, reputation within the industry and it is still unclear to what degree 3D Realms is continuing its development.