The lawsuit 3D Realms filed against Gearbox over allegedly withheld royalties from Duke Nukem Forever has been dismissed with prejudice, with the developer also saying it regrets that the lawsuit ever came to be.
Gearbox today issued a statement to the press announcing that the lawsuit had been dismissed with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently done with and can’t be appealed. It also included a statement from Scott Miller, the CEO of 3D Realms (also known as Apogee Software), who apologized for the damage it had done to its relationship with Gearbox.
“After reviewing evidence regarding our business affairs, and without any money exchanging hands, we have satisfactorily resolved any and all differences that we perceived against Gearbox,” Miller wrote. “In all sincerity, we regret the misunderstanding that instigated our lawsuit. Now that we better understand–and appreciate–the actual nature of our business matters, we have voluntarily withdrawn our claims against Gearbox, with genuine apologies to Randy [Pitchford, president of Gearbox] for any damage that our lawsuit may have caused to the relationship.”
The lawsuit was filed in June, with Apogee — the legal name of 3D Realms — alleging Gearbox had prevented it from auditing sales of Duke Nukem Forever . Gearbox vehemently denied the allegations and even fired back by stating, “Perhaps the lesson learned here is to never enter a gaming business deal with a person who has had more lawsuits than shipped games.”
Duke Nukem Forever spent more than a decade in development before Gearbox agreed to finish up and release the game, which it did in 2011. Upon release, it was widely panned by critics, but that didn’t stop Gearbox from expressing interest in making more Duke Nukem games last year.
