3D Realms is an American video game publisher and developer originally based in Garland, Texas and currently based in Aalborg, Denmark. It was founded in 1987 as Apogee Software by Scott Miller to publish his game Kingdom of Kroz . Prior to Apogee's founding, Miller had released a few games he had developed himself, as well as a couple "packs" of games developed by himself and others, under a shareware distribution model whereby the games were distributed for free in return for donations. [1] These games were inconsistently marketed under the name Apogee Software Productions, though after the company was founded they were sold under the Apogee Software name. [2] Miller found that the standard shareware model was not viable for his games such as Beyond the Titanic (1986) and Supernova (1987), and beginning with Kroz the company pioneered the "Apogee model" of shareware distribution, wherein games were broken up into segments with the first part released for free to drive interest in the other monetized portions. [1]
Soon after its founding, Apogee began publishing titles by other developers in addition to titles by Miller; these developers were often companies composed of a single designer. As Apogee expanded to include more people, some of these designers, such as George Broussard (Micro F/X Software) and Todd Replogle (Scenario Software), joined Apogee as employees and designed its later titles; Broussard joined the company in 1991 as a co-owner. [1] In the 1990s, Apogee was best known for popularizing its shareware model and as the creator of franchises for MS-DOS on the personal computer such as Duke Nukem and as the publisher of games such as Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D . [1] [2]
In 1994, Apogee decided to launch different brand names for each genre of games they published; it created 3D Realms for 3D games, publishing Terminal Velocity in 1995 and developing the 1996 Duke Nukem 3D under the name, with the other titles released in those years still under Apogee. [3] In late 1996, however, Apogee renamed the company itself to 3D Realms to associate their brand with newer, 3D titles. [1] 3D Realms launched a brand for pinball games, Pinball Wizards, in February 1997, but only published Balls of Steel (1997) under the name. [3] Also beginning in 1997, with their licensed Duke Nukem sequels, 3D Realms shifted from episodic MS-DOS titles to non-episodic console and personal computer games. In the process it abandoned the shareware model in favor of a traditional publishing model; it also largely ceased its activities as a developer that same year, releasing only Shadow Warrior (1997). [2] The sole exceptions were Prey (2006), which stayed in development until 2001 when it was transferred to another studio, and Duke Nukem Forever (2011), which famously stayed in development at 3D Realms as vaporware until 2009. [2] [4]
In July 2008, 3D Realms licensed the Apogee name to the newly formed Apogee Software, which publishes both older Apogee titles and new games; it was renamed Apogee Entertainment in 2021. [1] In 2009, financial issues drove 3D Realms to shut down their development department and publishing operations, canceling Duke Nukem Forever and its publishing involvement in the already announced Earth No More and Prey 2 . [1] [5] In 2014, 3D Realms itself, then focusing on licensing its franchises to other developers, was sold to the investment firm backing Interceptor Entertainment, one of those developers; [6] since then it has published two titles for Interceptor and has several more planned under its new name of Slipgate Ironworks. [7] [8] In 2017, 3D Realms announced a return to development with a partnership for Shadow Stalkers, expected in 2018 but later canceled. [9] 3D Realms has since published several titles, and is involved in the development of Wrath: Aeon of Ruin . During its history, 3D Realms has developed or published over 50 games, and granted licenses for 10 more. At least 25 games that 3D Realms was involved with were canceled, with some going on to be finished by other companies.
Many of the games published under the Apogee name were released as a set of separate episodes, which were purchasable and playable separately or as a group. Titles are listed for games that gave individual names to their episodes instead of episode numbers.
Title | System(s) | Release date | Developer(s) | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Puzzle Fun-Pak (Asteroids Rescue,Block Five,Maze Machine,Phrase Master) [a] | MS-DOS | 1986 | Apogee | [2] |
Adventure Fun-Pak (Night Bomber,Raiders of the Forbidden Mine,Rogue Runner,The Thing) [b] | MS-DOS | 1986 | [2] | |
Beyond the Titanic | MS-DOS | 1986 | Apogee (Scott Miller) | [2] |
Supernova | MS-DOS | 1987 | Apogee (Scott Miller, Terry Nagy) | [2] |
The Kroz Trilogy ("Kingdom of Kroz","Caverns of Kroz","Dungeons of Kroz") [c] | MS-DOS | November 26, 1987 | Apogee (Scott Miller) | [2] |
Word Whiz | MS-DOS | 1988 | Apogee (Scott Miller) | [2] |
Trivia Whiz | MS-DOS | 1988 | Micro F/X Software (George Broussard) | [2] |
Trek Trivia | MS-DOS | 1988 | Apogee (Scott Miller) | [2] |
Next Generation Trivia | MS-DOS | 1988 | Micro F/X Software (George Broussard) | [2] |
The Thor Trilogy ("Caves of Thor","Realm of Thor","Thor's Revenge") | MS-DOS | 1989 | Scenario Software (Todd Replogle) | [2] |
The Lost Adventures of Kroz | MS-DOS | 1990 | Apogee (Scott Miller) | [11] |
Monuments of Mars ("First Contact","The Pyramid","The Fortress","The Face") | MS-DOS [d] | January 1, 1990 | Scenario Software (Todd Replogle) | [2] [12] |
The Super Kroz Trilogy ("Return to Kroz","Temple of Kroz","The Final Crusade of Kroz") [e] | MS-DOS | June 1990 | Apogee (Scott Miller) | [1] |
Pharaoh's Tomb ("Raiders of the Lost Tomb","Pharaoh's Curse","Temple of Terror","Nevada's Revenge") | MS-DOS [d] | December 14, 1990 | Micro F/X Software (George Broussard) | [2] [15] |
Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons ("Marooned on Mars","The Earth Explodes","Keen Must Die!") | MS-DOS [f] | December 14, 1990 | id Software | [17] |
Dark Ages ("Prince of Destiny","The Undead Kingdom","Dungeons of Doom") | MS-DOS [d] | January 1991 | Scenario Software | [3] [18] |
Jumpman Lives! | MS-DOS | June 10, 1991 | Shamusoft Designs (Dave Sharpless) | [19] |
Duke Nukem ("Shrapnel City","Mission: Moonbase","Trapped in the Future") | MS-DOS [g] | July 1, 1991 | Apogee | [21] |
Paganitzu ("Romancing the Rose","The Silver Dagger","Jewel of the Yucatan") | MS-DOS [d] | October 1, 1991 | Trilobyte (Keith Schuler) | [22] |
Arctic Adventure | MS-DOS [d] | October 9, 1991 | Apogee | [2] [23] |
Crystal Caves ("Troubles with Twibbles","Slugging it Out","Mylo Versus the Supernova") | MS-DOS [d] | October 23, 1991 | [2] | |
Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy! ("Secret of the Oracle","The Armageddon Machine") | MS-DOS [f] | December 15, 1991 | id Software | [24] |
Secret Agent ("The Hunt for Red Rock Rover","Kill Again Island","Dr. No Body") | MS-DOS [d] | February 1, 1992 | Apogee | [2] |
Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure | MS-DOS [d] | March 1992 | [2] | |
Word Rescue ("Visit Gruzzleville and the Castle","Explore GruzzleBad Caverns","See the Spooky Haunted House") | MS-DOS [d] | March 1992 | Redwood Games | [2] [25] |
Wolfenstein 3D ("Escape from Castle Wolfenstein","Operation: Eisenfaust","Die, Führer, Die!") | MS-DOS [h] | May 5, 1992 | id Software | [33] |
Math Rescue ("Visit Volcanoes and Ice Caves","Follow the Gruzzles into Space","See Candy Land") | MS-DOS [d] | October 1992 | Redwood Games | [2] [25] |
ScubaVenture: The Search for Pirate's Treasure | MS-DOS | 1993 | Apogee [i] | [35] |
Major Stryker ("Lava Planet","Arctic Planet","Desert Planet") | MS-DOS [d] | January 15, 1993 | Apogee | [2] [36] |
Monster Bash | MS-DOS [d] | April 9, 1993 | [2] | |
Bio Menace ("Dr. Mangle's Lab","The Hidden Lab","Master Cain") | MS-DOS [d] | August 3, 1993 | [2] | |
Alien Carnage ("Sewers","Factory","Office Block","Alien Ship") [j] | MS-DOS [d] | October 10, 1993 | Interactive Binary Illusions, SubZero Software | [2] [38] |
Duke Nukem II | MS-DOS [k] | December 3, 1993 | Apogee | [2] [41] |
Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold ("Star Institute","Floating Fortress","Underground Network","Star Port","Habitat 11","Satellite Defense") | MS-DOS [d] | December 3, 1993 | JAM Productions | [42] |
Raptor: Call of the Shadows ("Bravo Sector","Tango Sector","Outer Regions") | MS-DOS [l] | April 1, 1994 | Cygnus Studios | [46] |
Hocus Pocus ("Time Tripping","Shattered Worlds","Warped and Weary","Destination Home") | MS-DOS [d] | June 1, 1994 | Moonlite Software | [2] [47] |
Mystic Towers ("Rimm","Tor Korad","Nortscar","Wolf's Den","Ebonscarp","Marchwall") | MS-DOS [d] | July 15, 1994 | Animation F/X | [48] |
Wacky Wheels | MS-DOS [d] | October 17, 1994 | Beavis Soft | [49] |
Blake Stone: Planet Strike | MS-DOS [d] | October 28, 1994 | JAM Productions | [50] |
Boppin' ("Bothersome Hunnybunz","Significant Other of Hunnybunz","Love Child of Hunnybunz","Hunnybunz Defrocked") | MS-DOS [m] | November 15, 1994 | Accursed Toys | [2] [52] |
Rise of the Triad ("Approach","Monastery","Caves Below","The Slow and the Dead") | MS-DOS [n] | December 21, 1994 | Apogee | [2] |
Terminal Velocity | MS-DOS, Windows [o] | May 1, 1995 | Terminal Reality | [57] |
Realms of Chaos ("Revolt of the Myraal","The Goblin Plague","Foray into Fire") | MS-DOS [d] | November 11, 1995 | Apogee | [2] |
Xenophage: Alien Bloodsport | MS-DOS [d] | December 29, 1995 | Argo Games | [58] |
Duke Nukem 3D ("L.A. Meltdown","Lunar Apocalypse","Shrapnel City") | MS-DOS [p] | January 29, 1996 | 3D Realms [q] | [2] [60] |
Death Rally | MS-DOS [r] | September 6, 1996 | Remedy Entertainment | [74] |
Stargunner ("Scout Mission","Stellar Attack","Terran Assault","Aquatic Combat") | MS-DOS [d] | November 19, 1996 | Apogee | [2] |
Shadow Warrior ("Enter the Wang","Code of Honor") | MS-DOS [s] | May 13, 1997 | 3D Realms [q] | [2] [70] |
Balls of Steel | Windows | December 12, 1997 | Wildfire Studios | [77] |
Max Payne ("The American Dream","A Cold Day in Hell","A Bit Closer to Heaven") | Windows [t] | July 23, 2001 | Remedy Entertainment [u] | [78] |
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne ("The Darkness Inside","A Binary Choice","Waking Up from the American Dream") | Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox | October 14, 2003 | Remedy Entertainment [v] | [80] |
Duke Nukem Mobile [w] | Mobile phones | January 15, 2004 | Machineworks Northwest | [81] |
Tapwave Zodiac | May 2004 | [81] | ||
Duke Nukem Mobile II: Bikini Project | Mobile phones | September 2005 | [83] | |
Prey | Windows, Xbox 360 | July 11, 2006 | 3D Realms, Human Head Studios [x] | [84] |
Duke Nukem Forever | Windows, macOS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | June 10, 2011 | 3D Realms, Triptych Games, Gearbox Software, Piranha Games [y] | [85] |
Bombshell [z] | Windows | January 29, 2016 | Interceptor Entertainment | [8] |
Rad Rodgers: World One | Windows | December 1, 2016 | [7] | |
Graveball | Windows | July 31, 2018 | Goin' Yumbo Games | [88] |
ZIQ | Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch | August 1, 2018 [aa] | Midnight Sea Studios | [89] |
Ion Fury | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One | August 15, 2019 [ab] | Voidpoint | [90] |
Ghostrunner | Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | October 27, 2020 | One More Level, Slipgate Ironworks [ac] | [92] |
Cultic | Windows | October 13, 2022 [ad] | Jasozz Games | [93] |
The Kindeman Remedy | Windows | November 16, 2023 | Troglobytes Games | |
Kingpin: Reloaded | Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch | December 5, 2023 | Xatrix Entertainment, Slipgate Ironworks [ae] | [94] |
Graven | Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch | January 23, 2024 | Slipgate Ironworks [af] | [95] |
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One | February 27, 2024 [ag] | KillPixel, Slipgate Ironworks | [97] |
Phantom Fury | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch | April 23, 2024 | Slipgate Ironworks | |
Ripout | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | May 28, 2024 [ah] | Pet Project Games | [98] |
Bloodless | Windows | August 29, 2024 | Point N' Sheep | |
Tempest Rising | Windows | April 24, 2025 | Slipgate Ironworks, 2B Games [ai] | |
Core Decay | Windows | TBA | Ivar Hill, Slipgate Ironworks | [99] |
SiN: Reloaded | Windows | TBA | Ritual Entertainment, Nightdive Studios, Slipgate Ironworks [aj] | [100] [101] |
Combustion | Windows | TBA | Retro Dungeon, Slipgate Ironworks | |
Twisted Tower | Windows | TBA | Atmos Games |
Several spinoff games and remakes, especially in the Duke Nukem series, have been created with 3D Realms granting a license but without serving as the developer or publisher.
Several game projects were begun and abandoned before completion that had Apogee/3D Realms as the developer or publisher. Some of these were later completed by another developer or publisher, though many were not. In addition to these games, there are projects that were conceived but never began development, such as Dino Days (1991) and Commander Keen: The Universe is Toast! (1992), and titles which had preliminary agreements or offers for 3D Realms to publish where a final agreement was never reached either because the project was canceled or another publisher was chosen instead. [125]
Title | Planned system(s) | Cancelation date | Developer(s) | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Underground Empire of Kroz | MS-DOS | 1991 | Apogee | [125] |
Gateworld | MS-DOS | 1992 [am] | Apogee | [125] |
Fantasy 3D | MS-DOS | 1993 | Peter Jungck | [125] |
Cybertank 3D | MS-DOS | 1993 | Frank Maddin | [125] |
Tubes | MS-DOS | 1993 [an] | Absolute Magic | [125] |
BoulderDash 5000 | MS-DOS | 1993 | [125] | |
Nuclear Nightmare | Windows | 1993 | [125] | |
Angels Five | MS-DOS | 1993 | [125] | |
The Second Sword | MS-DOS | 1993 | Cygnus Studios | [125] |
Wards of Wandaal | MS-DOS | 1993 | [125] | |
Megaloman | MS-DOS | 1994 | Apogee | [125] |
Monster Bash VGA | MS-DOS | 1995 | Apogee | [125] |
Crazy Baby | MS-DOS | 1995 [ao] | Apogee | [125] |
Fumes | MS-DOS | 1995 | [125] | |
Crystal Carnage | MS-DOS | 1995 | [125] | |
Ruins: Return of the Gods | MS-DOS | 1995 [ap] | 3D Realms | [125] |
Ravager | MS-DOS | 1996 [aq] | Apogee | [125] |
Cyberboard Kid | MS-DOS | 1996 [ar] | Apogee | [125] |
Duke Nukem Forever | MS-DOS | 1997 [as] | 3D Realms | [125] |
Blood | MS-DOS | 1997 [at] | Q Studios | [125] |
Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War | Windows | 1998 [au] | Volition | [125] |
Duke Nukem: Endangered Species Hunter | Windows | 2001 | Action Forms | [135] |
Duke Nukem: D-Day | PlayStation 2 | 2003 [av] | n-Space | [136] |
Earth No More | Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | 2008 [aw] | Recoil Games | [5] [138] |
Prey 2 | Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | 2008 [aw] | Human Head Studios | [5] |
Shadow Stalkers | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 | 2018 [ax] | 3D Realms, Zoom Platform | [9] |