Rise of the Triad reboot artists acquire original Duke Nukem developer 3D Realms

The Danes must love 1990s-era PC shooters.

Denmark-based SDN Invest has acquired Duke Nukem 3D creator 3D Realms, also known as Apogee Software, Ltd. SDN now owns 3D Realms as well as part of Interceptor Entertainment, which is the team that produced the Rise of the Triad remake last year. Mike Nielsen, who founded SDN, will take over as chief executive officer of 3D Realms. He will serve in this position in addition to his role as Interceptor’s chairman of the board.

This acquisition comes a week after Duke Nukem Forever developer Gearbox Software filed a lawsuit against Interceptor and 3D Realms for making a new game in the Duke Nukem franchise.

“My long-time 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,” 3D Realms cofounder Scott Miller said. “Our history shows we did that throughout the 1990s and 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.”

We’ve reached out to Broussard and Miller to ask if they will have any involvement with 3D Realms going forward.

“3D Realms is legendary for its contributions to the gaming industry as both the pioneer of the shareware model and an always generous partner who has provided both funding and guidance to game studios such as id Software, Parallax Software, Remedy Entertainment, and many others,” said Nielsen, the newly appointed CEO. “There are only a handful of independent studios with a better track record of original games. Yet even with this stellar track record, we hope we can take the company to new heights.”

We’ve reached out to Interceptor and 3D Realms to ask about the future of the storied studio. We’ve also asked about how this acquisition affects its lawsuit with Gearbox. We’ll update with any new information.

In 2010, Gearbox acquired the future publishing rights of the Duke Nukem character, but now Interceptor is planning to release an isometric role-playing game for PlayStation 4 and PC called Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction. In fact, Interceptor and 3D Realms have a teaser website that previously revealed the Duke revival is coming out very soon.

3D Realms still owns the older Duke Nukem titles as well as other classics like Shadow Warrior. The company has recently generated revenue from selling its older games as well as licensing properties like Shadow Warrior to other studios. Those titles will move over to SDN and Interceptor.