The ongoing lawsuit between the creator and former owner of the Duke Nukem franchise, 3D Realms, as well as the present owner of the IP Gearbox Software, has now come to an end- both the companies appear to have come to a settlement on the issue, and it seems as though Gearbox will retain full rights to the franchise, though 3D Realms and Interceptor will be allowed to release Duke Nukem Mass Destruction.
“We never intended to cause any harm to Gearbox or Duke, which is why we immediately ceased development after Gearbox reached out,” a joint statement issued by 3D Realms and Gearbox said.
“To secure the future of Duke, 3D Realms has agreed with Gearbox that a single home serves the IP best. And as big Duke fans, we’re excited to see what Gearbox has in store for the ‘King.’ As for our own games, we’re eager to complete development of the ‘Bombshell’ game and get it in the hands of our fans.”
Of course, it remains to be seen whether Gearbox will actually do something with the Duke Nukem IP- studio boss Randy Pitchford seems to have been hinting at a new game in the franchise for a while now, but for now, Duke Nukem Forever is the only ‘modern’ thing the franchise has done in ages.