Following the sudden shut down of Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms last week, rumors began to circulate that the studio had opted to close instead of selling the overall Duke Nukem property to publishing partner Take-Two for some $30 million.
Now, 3D Realms co-founder Scott Miller has outright denied those rumors, telling Shacknews that the studio "would have taken this offer without hesitation" if it meant finishing DNF, indicating that the reality is "Not. Even. Close." to the rumors.
Responding to one reader that claimed they would have "sold the IP in a heart beat and created a new IP with that 30 million," Miller said "Hell, I would have also!"
Another rumor, this one claiming that Take-Two offered to sell 3D Realms the Duke Nukem Forever publishing rights for $30 million, has thus far gone unaddressed.
As it stands now, the fate of the notoriously long-in-development sequel Duke Nukem Forever is unclear. Take-Two, which paid Infogrames $12 million for the DNF publishing rights in 2000, has sued the remains of 3D Realms, claiming that it is owed "millions of dollars" as 3D Realms did not deliver the anticipated game.
However, 3D Realms "didn't get a penny of that [$12 million]," according to Miller. "This, along with so much else, is 100% spin, being eaten up by those who have no clue whatsoever."
As of June 2006, 3D Realms had self-funded "99.999% of the game (aside from a very, very small advance from GT Interactive, years ago, before Take 2 bought the game from them)," president George Broussard said at the time.
After 3D Realms shut down, Take-Two issued a statement that confirmed it had not been providing the studio with "ongoing funds for development of the title."
Take-Two and 3D Realms forged a second agreement regarding Duke Nukem Forever in 2007, claims the recent lawsuit, though details have yet to be made public and could very well be key to determining the outcome of the pending legal action.