3D Realms Has Closed Shop

[Rob Williams]

From our front-page news:

Of all the games currently in development, Duke Nukem Forever is one in particular that's been made fun of time and again. How long will it take to see a release? Forever, of course. Sadly, that might actually be the case, as it has become known that the development studio behind the game, 3D Realms, has shut down, despite the fact that no "official" word has been made directly by the company.

However, it has indeed been confirmed by former employee Joe Siegler on the official forums, however, where he references an interview he made just days ago in saying, "When I recorded that, I didn't know.", so it appears that 3DR is actually... gone. As a huge fan of 3D Realms and Duke Nukem in particular, this news is really quite upsetting. It's hard to be surprised given the insane release schedule for DNF, but that makes the news even more difficult to take.

For those who've been gaming for a while, and I'm talking 286/386 days, chances are you've played games from these guys even if you don't realize it. The company first started out as Apogee and released such gems as Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, Hocus Pocus, Mystic Towers, Rise of the Triad, Commander Keen, Crystal Caves, Max Payne, Halloween Harry, Raptor and so forth. Not to mention Wolfenstein 3D and Duke Nukem I and II.

What will happen with what's left of DNF is up in the air, and chances are good that George Broussard is working hard to figure out a way to keep the company afloat, unless that ship has already sailed. We'll likely learn a lot more in the coming days. Hopefully it doesn't mean the end for DNF. Many of us have been waiting a while for it (I still have a copy of a 1997 preview on the game), and it would be a shame to see it disappear.

A very reliable source close to Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms today confirmed to Shacknews that the development studio has shut down. The closure came about as a result of funding issues, our source explained, with the shut down said to affect both 3D Realms and the recently resurrected Apogee. Employees of both entities have already been let go.

Source: Shacknews​

 

[Rob Williams]

Damn, this is upsetting. I had a good feeling about the development of DNF when I saw how well the Duke Nukem 3D Xbox Live Arcade version was selling (it's sold well over a hundred thousand units, and it could even be multiple hundred thousand), and even apparently wasn't enough cash to help things to keep going. Some are hoping this is a gag just to misled people, but it's highly, highly unlikely.

I really hope this isn't the end of DNF.

 

[Doomsday]

D'Oh!! i wanted to bust some pig heads! this game has been in development for like, everr and now they be shutting off. I also hope DNF gets released!

 

[Greg King]

I'm surprised that it took as long as it did.

 

[Rob Williams]

I also hope DNF gets released!

If I had to predict, I'd say that 2K Games will purchase the rights to the game, and probably hire some of the current DNF devs, and then their parent company, Take-Two (who exclusively own the publishing rights), will put it out to market. I wouldn't feel comfortable with any developer taking over DNF, but if I had to choose, it'd be 2K. They already have experience with other 3D Realm titles (such as Prey), and I think they know what kind of status the game has to live up to. As long as they keep some of the original devs, I think the game could still be totally kick ass upon release. I'm 100% confident it will get released in some way or another.

I'm surprised that it took as long as it did.

That's what happens when your a privately-owned company and don't have a real boss looking down on you, telling you to hurry the hell up. I give kudos to 3DR for lasting as long as they did. As a privately-funded company, they never had layoffs and never had to take out a loan. That's rather impressive. There are few companies to survive being run like that (Valve and iD are two rare exceptions).

In all seriousness, as much as I love the company and Duke Nukem titles, the game shouldn't have taken so long for development. I mean, it's been in development since '96 or '97, and no one except 3DR knows for sure how complete it is. The reason it's been changed so many times throughout the years is clear. A) They wanted to make sure that the end game is one that true fans would be thrilled with and B) Multiple engine changes didn't help a thing.

 

[Doomsday]

If I had to predict, I'd say that 2K Games will purchase the rights to the game, and probably hire some of the current DNF devs, and then their parent company, Take-Two (who exclusively own the publishing rights), will put it out to market. I wouldn't feel comfortable with any developer taking over DNF, but if I had to choose, it'd be 2K. They already have experience with other 3D Realm titles (such as Prey), and I think they know what kind of status the game has to live up to. As long as they keep some of the original devs, I think the game could still be totally kick ass upon release. I'm 100% confident it will get released in some way or another.

i hope so, this game has been in development for like Ages!
ah well, in the mean time StarCraft 2 just went Beta so wohoo! more excited now, cant wait.

 

[Rob Williams]

For those interested, here's a current picture of the 3DR team, soon to be ceased:

SITTING/KNEELING L-R: Chris Cummings, Randy Forsyth, David Riegel, Pat Jones, Pete Knepley, Jay Brushwood, Dave Ratti, George Broussard, Allen Blum, Chris DeSimone, Brian Hook (pink tie), Scott MacLean, Rob "MacGuvyer" Faison, Andrew "Sonic" Kershner, Bryan Turner, Steve Blackburn, Kaiser the do

STANDING L-R: Brian Lawson, John Pollard, James Houska, Andrew Baker, Eric Von Rothkirch, Chris Skelton, Mark Skelton, Gary Buchanan, Kevin Green, Joe Siegler, Rick Huenick, Chris Smith, Ben "Too Happy" Eoff, Trammell "T-ray" Isaac, David Carter, Bryan Brewer, Layne Johnson, Brad Jacobs, John Anderson

(Names taken from the official site.)

 

[gcraves19]

Although this hasn’t been officially confirmed yet 3DRealms is thought to have been closed down. The news is being reported by several different sites including Shacknews, Gamasutra, and GamesIndustry.biz as a sudden closure that not many people were aware was coming.

One example of this was employee Joe Siegler who gave part one of a two-part interview with TechHotDish, but then promptly canceled the second part. In a 3DRealms forum post he later commented on the closure saying:

When I recorded [part one of the interview], I didn’t know. It’s not a marketing thing. It’s true. I have nothing further to say at this time.

Take-Two Interactive only held a publishing agreement with 3DRealms and were not funding any projects. Luckily it seems Deep Silver, who are publishing the handheld version of Duke Nukem Trilogy have confirmed that project will continue and is immune to this apparent closure.

So is this the final nail in the coffin of Duke Nukem Forever? We’re awaiting 3DRealms to officially comment on what exactly has happened.