Duke Nukem lawsuit withdrawn

3D Realms’s lawsuit against Duke Nukem Forever co-developer Gearbox ended today when the company voluntarily withdrew its complaint.

The legal row began in June when 3D Realms claimed that Gearbox owed some $2 million in unpaid royalties as part of the 2010 agreement that gave the studio license for the Duke Nukem IP.

The suit also argued that Gearbox hadn’t taken over a $2.9 million loan that was supposed to have been part of the deal.

3D Realms now says it’s all down to a “misunderstanding” and withdrew the case on September 11.

“After reviewing evidence regarding our business affairs, and without any money exchanging hands, we have satisfactorily resolved any and all differences that we perceived against Gearbox,” reads a statement from 3D Realms co-founder and CEO Scott Miller.

“In all sincerity, we regret the misunderstanding that instigated our lawsuit. Now that we better understand–and appreciate–the actual nature of our business matters, we have voluntarily withdrawn our claims against Gearbox, with genuine apologies to [Gearbox president] Randy [Pitchford] for any damage that our lawsuit may have caused to the relationship.”

There is quite a lot of potential damage to be done, as Pitchford and 3D Realms co-founders Miller and Scot Broussard are reported to have been friends for years, and it can only be hoped that the business issues were resolved in time for the trio to resolve any personal differences.

The legal battle at least is over and, since the case was dropped with prejudice, won’t be able to be resurrected.