Gearbox Acquires the Duke Nukem IP

Gearbox recently acquired the Duke Nukem IP, giving them the rights to all future Duke Nukem titles. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford explained the decision to Gamasutra (via 1up) that his development history with 3D Realms played a big part in it. “I wouldn’t have my career and I wouldn’t be in the games industry if it wasn’t for Scott [Miller]”

Pitchford consulted with Gearbox vice president Brian Martel, they agreed to revive the project. “We felt we were in a spot where we can fix this,” he said. “We’re local. Everyone trusts us. We can keep Duke alive.”

Pitchford recalled the moment Gearbox acquired the IP, “It was a passing of the torch moment. It wasn’t somber. We were celebrating. Scott was very excited. He’s a businessman and was like ‘I’m finally going to be able to monetize this thing!’ I was watching George – and he has such a personal stake in this – but he was bouncing. What it meant, more than anything else, was his dream wasn’t dead.”

At the time, the legal brawl between 3DR and Take-Two was still in motion. So the next morning, Pitchford met with 2K Games president, Christoph Hartmann to tell him of the IP handoff. “Ultimately, when I acquired the brand, I acquired the liability. I was now the person having to defend the lawsuit with Take-Two. Fortunately, we have a good relationship with Take-Two and they got behind it. … I was able to help clear the drama away... where we’re at now is a drama free world, where everyone is focused on making it work.”

Duke Nukem Forever is set for a 2011 release and the franchise will live on at Gearbox thanks to the acquisition.

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