In a statement issued to Shacknews, 3D Realms (3DR) dealt broadly with certain public revelations for the company and "set the record straight on some issues." While reports had suggested that 3DR had closed (something implied on their own website) the developer stated it "has not closed and is not closing."
"3DR retains ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise," read the statement. "Due to lack of funding, however, we are saddened to confirm that we let the Duke Nukem Forever (DNF) development team go on May 6th, while we regroup as a company. 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."
Pertaining to the lawsuit Take-Two recently filed against 3DR, the developer again denied, "advances or any signing bonus or any other funds related to DNF, up until July 2008, at which time they paid $2.5 million in connection with another agreement for an unannounced game." They claim this is the total funding received for Duke Nukem Forever. "Take-Two claims that they paid $12 million to GT Interactive/Infogrames to acquire the publishing rights for the DNF game. To be clear, 3DR was not a party to that transaction and did not receive any money from it," continued the statement. "When the DNF game was originally signed with GT Interactive in 1998, GT paid 3DR a $400,000 signing bonus. Up until July 2008, this was the only publisher money we received for the DNF game. Meanwhile, 3DR put over $20m into the production of DNF."
3DR confirmed that Take-Two retains publishing rights for the DNF game. They then detailed the process that eventually led to most of the studios' employees being let go earlier this month. "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."
"Less than a week after the DNF team was released, Take-Two filed its lawsuit in New York, seeking immediate temporary injunctive relief. The court denied Take-Two's request for a temporary restraining order. While we cannot comment on the details of the ongoing lawsuit, we believe Take-Two's lawsuit is without merit and merely a bully tactic to obtain ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this publisher," concluded the release.
