Danish investment firm SDN Invest announced on Monday that it has required Apogee Software LTD. SDN Invest is already part-owner and principal investor in Denmark-based Interceptor Entertainment, which just launched the Rise of the Triad reboot months ago. Mike Nielsen, who also serves as Chairman of the Board at Interceptor, will assume the role of CEO, effective immediately.
"3D Realms has always been a defining part [of] the PC games industry," said Frederik Schreiber, CEO of Interceptor Entertainment. "Getting 3D Realms under our wings is a huge step for us and we are extremely excited about the acquisition."
Apogee Software LTD was established in 1987, and created the 3D Realms brand for publishing its 3D video games, such as Duke Nukem 3D, in 1994. However, Apogee Software LTD still remains as 3D Realms' legal name even though the name was dropped in 1996, and games were published using the 3D Realms brand.
In 2008, 3D Realms decided to revive the Apogee Games label with the launch of a separate company named Apogee Software LLC. This company would develop and publish new games, such as Duke Nukem Trilogy and the new Rise of the Triad, and distribute some of the older titles.
"My longtime partner George Broussard and I are extremely proud of our past, especially as developers who always tried to partner with up-and-coming studios who just needed their break," said Scott Miller, co-founder of 3D Realms. "Our history shows we did that throughout the 1990s & 2000s, and I expect the new 3D Realms to continue with this tradition in full force. Our industry needs more good guys, who honor the profession and fellow hard-working developers."
News of the acquisition arrives a week after Gearbox Software, the developer who patched together Duke Nukem Forever and released Aliens: Colonial Marines, filed a lawsuit against Interceptor Entertainment for working on a new Duke Nukem title without permission.
"Interceptor's new game 'Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction' will make unlawful use of Gearbox's IP, including characters, marks, and copyrights in violation of Gearbox's rights under the APA, and federal trademark and copyright law," reads the complaint.
The game under fire is a top-down action role-playing title. Mike Nielsen says there's no official announcement despite the teaser site and the Facebook page.
"We were going to announce it on the countdown but due to the lawsuit that has arisen, we have been unable to comment on it," Nielson told Eurogamer. "And because of the lawsuit we can't comment. The only thing we can say is we're big fans of Duke. That's all I can say. I have to be careful on this subject. Obviously the lawsuit isn't ideal. We'd love to see it go away and have a peaceful resolution to it, but it's not something that scares us. Our only message is we're not all out of gum yet."
He also said that the 3D Realms will act as a publisher, and Interceptor will be the developer. The 3D Realms brand still carries an enormous value despite some of the controversy, he said.
"For me it still stands as a shining beacon with some of the founding fathers of the modern computer game industry," he said. "That weighed heavily with us."
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