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) [lower-alpha 1] | MS-DOS | 1986 | Apogee | [2] |
Adventure Fun-Pak (Night Bomber,Raiders of the Forbidden Mine,Rogue Runner,The Thing) [lower-alpha 2] | 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") [lower-alpha 3] | 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 [lower-alpha 4] | January 1, 1990 | Scenario Software (Todd Replogle) | [2] [12] |
The Super Kroz Trilogy ("Return to Kroz","Temple of Kroz","The Final Crusade of Kroz") [lower-alpha 5] | 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 [lower-alpha 4] | 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 [lower-alpha 6] | December 14, 1990 | id Software | [17] |
Dark Ages ("Prince of Destiny","The Undead Kingdom","Dungeons of Doom") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | 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 [lower-alpha 7] | July 1, 1991 | Apogee | [21] |
Paganitzu ("Romancing the Rose","The Silver Dagger","Jewel of the Yucatan") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | October 1, 1991 | Trilobyte (Keith Schuler) | [22] |
Arctic Adventure | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | October 9, 1991 | Apogee | [2] [23] |
Crystal Caves ("Troubles with Twibbles","Slugging it Out","Mylo Versus the Supernova") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | October 23, 1991 | [2] | |
Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy! ("Secret of the Oracle","The Armageddon Machine") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 6] | December 15, 1991 | id Software | [24] |
Secret Agent ("The Hunt for Red Rock Rover","Kill Again Island","Dr. No Body") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | February 1, 1992 | Apogee | [2] |
Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | March 1992 | [2] | |
Word Rescue ("Visit Gruzzleville and the Castle","Explore GruzzleBad Caverns","See the Spooky Haunted House") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | March 1992 | Redwood Games | [2] [25] |
Wolfenstein 3D ("Escape from Castle Wolfenstein","Operation: Eisenfaust","Die, Führer, Die!") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 8] | May 5, 1992 | id Software | [33] |
Math Rescue ("Visit Volcanoes and Ice Caves","Follow the Gruzzles into Space","See Candy Land") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | October 1992 | Redwood Games | [2] [25] |
ScubaVenture: The Search for Pirate's Treasure | MS-DOS | 1993 | Apogee [lower-alpha 9] | [35] |
Major Stryker ("Lava Planet","Arctic Planet","Desert Planet") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | January 15, 1993 | Apogee | [2] [36] |
Monster Bash | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | April 9, 1993 | [2] | |
Bio Menace ("Dr. Mangle's Lab","The Hidden Lab","Master Cain") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | August 3, 1993 | [2] | |
Alien Carnage ("Sewers","Factory","Office Block","Alien Ship") [lower-alpha 10] | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | October 10, 1993 | Interactive Binary Illusions, SubZero Software | [2] [38] |
Duke Nukem II | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 11] | 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 [lower-alpha 4] | December 3, 1993 | JAM Productions | [42] |
Raptor: Call of the Shadows ("Bravo Sector","Tango Sector","Outer Regions") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 12] | April 1, 1994 | Cygnus Studios | [46] |
Hocus Pocus ("Time Tripping","Shattered Worlds","Warped and Weary","Destination Home") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | June 1, 1994 | Moonlite Software | [2] [47] |
Mystic Towers ("Rimm","Tor Korad","Nortscar","Wolf's Den","Ebonscarp","Marchwall") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | July 15, 1994 | Animation F/X | [48] |
Wacky Wheels | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | October 17, 1994 | Beavis Soft | [49] |
Blake Stone: Planet Strike | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | October 28, 1994 | JAM Productions | [50] |
Boppin' ("Bothersome Hunnybunz","Significant Other of Hunnybunz","Love Child of Hunnybunz","Hunnybunz Defrocked") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 13] | November 15, 1994 | Accursed Toys | [2] [52] |
Rise of the Triad ("Approach","Monastery","Caves Below","The Slow and the Dead") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 14] | December 21, 1994 | Apogee | [2] |
Terminal Velocity | MS-DOS, Windows [lower-alpha 15] | May 1, 1995 | Terminal Reality | [57] |
Realms of Chaos ("Revolt of the Myraal","The Goblin Plague","Foray into Fire") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | November 11, 1995 | Apogee | [2] |
Xenophage: Alien Bloodsport | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | December 29, 1995 | Argo Games | [58] |
Duke Nukem 3D ("L.A. Meltdown","Lunar Apocalypse","Shrapnel City") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 16] | January 29, 1996 | 3D Realms [lower-alpha 17] | [2] [60] |
Death Rally | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 18] | September 6, 1996 | Remedy Entertainment | [74] |
Stargunner ("Scout Mission","Stellar Attack","Terran Assault","Aquatic Combat") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 4] | November 19, 1996 | Apogee | [2] |
Shadow Warrior ("Enter the Wang","Code of Honor") | MS-DOS [lower-alpha 19] | May 13, 1997 | 3D Realms [lower-alpha 17] | [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 [lower-alpha 20] | July 23, 2001 | Remedy Entertainment [lower-alpha 21] | [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 [lower-alpha 22] | [80] |
Duke Nukem Mobile [lower-alpha 23] | 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 [lower-alpha 24] | [84] |
Duke Nukem Forever | Windows, macOS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | June 10, 2011 | 3D Realms, Triptych Games, Gearbox Software, Piranha Games [lower-alpha 25] | [85] |
Bombshell [lower-alpha 26] | 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 [lower-alpha 27] | Midnight Sea Studios | [89] |
Ion Fury | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One | August 15, 2019 [lower-alpha 28] | Voidpoint | [90] |
Ghostrunner | Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | October 27, 2020 | One More Level, Slipgate Ironworks [lower-alpha 29] | [92] |
Cultic | Windows | October 13, 2022 [lower-alpha 30] | 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 [lower-alpha 31] | [94] |
Graven | Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch | January 23, 2024 | Slipgate Ironworks [lower-alpha 32] | [95] |
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin | Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One | February 27, 2024 [lower-alpha 33] | 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 [lower-alpha 34] | Pet Project Games | [98] |
Bloodless | Windows | August 29, 2024 | Point N' Sheep | |
Core Decay | Windows | TBA | Ivar Hill, Slipgate Ironworks | [99] |
SiN: Reloaded | Windows | TBA | Ritual Entertainment, Nightdive Studios, Slipgate Ironworks [lower-alpha 35] | [100] [101] |
Combustion | Windows | TBA | Retro Dungeon, Slipgate Ironworks | |
Tempest Rising | Windows | TBA | Slipgate Ironworks, 2B Games [lower-alpha 36] | |
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]
Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms. It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II, published by 3D Realms.
Rise of the Triad: Dark War is a first-person shooter video game, developed and published by Apogee Software in 1995. The player can choose to play as one of five different characters, each bearing unique attributes such as speed and endurance. The game's story follows these five characters who have been sent to investigate a deadly cult, and soon become aware of a deadly plot to destroy a nearby city. A remake was designed by Interceptor Entertainment and released by Apogee Games in 2013. The shareware version of the game is titled Rise of the Triad: The HUNT Begins.
Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992, for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game Castle Wolfenstein, and is the third installment in the Wolfenstein series. In Wolfenstein 3D, the player assumes the role of Allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz during World War II as he escapes from the Nazi German prison Castle Wolfenstein and carries out a series of crucial missions against the Nazis. The player traverses each of the game's levels to find an elevator to the next level or kill a final boss, fighting Nazi soldiers, dogs, and other enemies with a knife and a variety of guns.
Commander Keen is a series of side-scrolling platform video games developed primarily by id Software. The series consists of six main episodes, a "lost" episode, and a final game; all but the final game were released for MS-DOS in 1990 and 1991, while the 2001 Commander Keen was released for the Game Boy Color. The series follows the eponymous Commander Keen, the secret identity of the eight-year-old genius Billy Blaze, as he defends the Earth and the galaxy from alien threats with his homemade spaceship, rayguns, and pogo stick. The first three episodes were developed by Ideas from the Deep, the precursor to id, and published by Apogee Software as the shareware title Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons; the "lost" episode 3.5 Commander Keen in Keen Dreams was developed by id and published as a retail title by Softdisk; episodes four and five were released by Apogee as the shareware Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy; and the simultaneously developed episode six was published in retail by FormGen as Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter. Ten years later, an homage and sequel to the series was developed by David A. Palmer Productions and published by Activision as Commander Keen. Another game was announced in 2019 as under development by ZeniMax Online Studios, but was not released.
Duke Nukem Forever is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K for Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and MacOS X. It is the fourth main installment in the Duke Nukem series and the sequel to Duke Nukem 3D (1996). Players control Duke Nukem as he comes out of retirement to battle an alien invasion. Like its predecessor, Duke Nukem Forever features pop culture references, toilet humor, and adult content.
Apogee Entertainment, formerly Apogee Software, LLC, is an American video game publisher based in Rowlett, Texas. The company was founded by Terry Nagy in 2008 after he licensed the rights to the name and logo from Scott Miller and his company, 3D Realms, which had used both previously. After reorganizing as Apogee Entertainment in 2021, it hired Miller for its publishing operations.
3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game Kingdom of Kroz. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the company popularized a distribution model where each game consists of three episodes, with the first given away free as shareware and the other two available for purchase. Duke Nukem was a major franchise created by Apogee to use this model, and Apogee published Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D the same way.
Tom Hall is an American game designer best known for his work with id Software on titles such as Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Commander Keen. He has also been the co-founder of Ion Storm, together with his friend and colleague John Romero. During his years in the company, Hall designed and produced Anachronox and was also actively involved in the development of Deus Ex.
Shadow Warrior is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Interactive. The shareware version was released for the PC on May 13, 1997, while the full version was completed on August 25, 1997 and released in stores on September 16, 1997. Shadow Warrior was developed using Ken Silverman's Build engine and improved on 3D Realms' previous Build engine game, Duke Nukem 3D. Mark Adams ported Shadow Warrior to Mac OS in August 1997.
Duke Nukem is a 1991 platform game developed and published by Apogee Software for MS-DOS. The 2D, multidirectional scrolling game follows the adventures of fictional character Duke Nukem across three episodes of ten levels each. The game's first episode was distributed as shareware. The name was briefly changed to Duke Nukum to avoid trademark issues.
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a platform game developed by Sunstorm Interactive, produced by 3D Realms, and published by Arush Entertainment. It was released on Microsoft Windows on May 14, 2002, in North America and on June 14, 2002, in Europe. A port of the game would be released for the Xbox 360 on June 23, 2010, by 3D Realms directly, followed by an iOS port on January 9, 2014.
Balls of Steel is a pinball computer game developed by Wildfire Studios and released on December 12, 1997. It is the only game to be published under the Pinball Wizards label, a division of Apogee Software.
Wolfenstein is a series of alternate history World War II video games originally developed by Muse Software. The majority of the games follow William "B.J." Blazkowicz, an American Army captain, and his fight against the Axis powers. Earlier titles are centered around Nazi attempts to harness supernatural and occult forces, while later games are set after the Nazis successfully implement various science fiction technologies to achieve victory in World War II.
Duke Nukem is a media franchise named for its main character, Duke Nukem. Created by the company Apogee Software Ltd. as a series of video games for personal computers, the series expanded to games released for various consoles by third-party developers. The first two games in the main series were 2D platformers, while the later games have been a mix of first-person and third-person shooters.
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through the eyes of the main character. This genre shares multiple common traits with other shooter games, and in turn falls under the action games category. Since the genre's inception, advanced 3D and pseudo-3D graphics have proven fundamental to allow a reasonable level of immersion in the game world, and this type of game helped pushing technology progressively further, challenging hardware developers worldwide to introduce numerous innovations in the field of graphics processing units. Multiplayer gaming has been an integral part of the experience, and became even more prominent with the diffusion of internet connectivity in recent years.
Duke Nukem is a fictional character and protagonist of the Duke Nukem video game series. The character first appeared in the 1991 video game Duke Nukem, developed by Apogee Software. He has since appeared in multiple sequels and spin-offs, as well appearing in various games not in the series. Most recently, he starred in Duke Nukem Forever, released by Gearbox Software, which now owns the intellectual property rights to the series and the character.
The video game Duke Nukem Forever spent more than 14 years in development, from 1997 to 2011. It is a first-person shooter for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, developed by 3D Realms, Triptych Games, Gearbox Software and Piranha Games. It is the sequel to the 1996 game Duke Nukem 3D, as part of the long-running Duke Nukem video game series. Intended to be groundbreaking, it became an infamous example of vaporware due to its severely protracted development schedule. Director George Broussard, one of the creators of the original Duke Nukem game, announced the development in 1997, and promotional information for the game was released from 1997 until its release in 2011.
Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons is a three-part episodic side-scrolling platform video game developed by Ideas from the Deep and published by Apogee Software in 1990 for MS-DOS. It is the first set of episodes of the Commander Keen series. The game follows the titular Commander Keen, an eight-year-old child genius, as he retrieves the stolen parts of his spaceship from the cities of Mars, prevents a recently arrived alien mothership from destroying landmarks on Earth, and hunts down the leader of the aliens, the Grand Intellect, on the alien home planet. The three episodes feature Keen running, jumping, and shooting through various levels while opposed by aliens, robots, and other hazards.
Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy is a two-part episodic side-scrolling platform video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software in 1991 for DOS. It consists of the fifth and sixth episodes of the Commander Keen series, though they are numbered as the fourth and fifth, as Commander Keen in Keen Dreams is not part of the main continuity. The game follows the titular Commander Keen, an eight-year-old child genius, as he first journeys through the Shadowlands to rescue the Gnosticenes so they may ask the Oracle how the Shikadi plan to destroy the galaxy, and then through the Shikadi's Armageddon Machine to stop them. The two episodes feature Keen running, jumping, and shooting through various levels while opposed by aliens, robots, and other hazards.