Remember when Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition got pulled from Steam a while back? Maybe not, but here is a news article regarding that episode. Basically, Gearbox is still up to their usual ways and bulling developers around:
Richard Gobeille is an independent games developer. Disabled and with a wife currently hospitalized by lupus, Gobeille relies on royalties from his games for a substantial portion of his family’s overall income. Recently that took a hit, when Gearbox ended its distribution relationship with publisher Devolver Digital and Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition was pulled from Steam. More than a month of Gobeille’s outstanding royalties, for use of his code in Megaton, were allegedly handed over to Gearbox in the process.
All of which would be perfectly legal, if Gobeille’s games were infringing upon Gearbox’s rights. Yet Gobeille has a licensing contract in hand, signed by 3D Realms’ Scott Miller, saying the opposite.
Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has since claimed that Gobeille was “hoodwinked by those guys… [w]e are both victims of the same culprit.” His position, as well as that of various other Gearbox representatives who’ve contacted Gobeille on the matter, is that Miller was never in any position of authority to cut such a contract. One even said “If you still believe his deal with you is valid then Gearbox can take that up with Scott Miller.”