The abrupt meltdown of PC gaming's most infamous vapourware, Duke Nukem Forever , isn't going to pass without some legal fallout.

DNF's intended publisher, Take-Two Interactive, is accusing the defunct dev house 3D Realms of contract breach for failing to deliver the long-long-awaited game.

3D Realms was supposedly designing DNF since 1997 (way back before there was even such a thing as Google or the International Space Station), but terminated the project and shuttered its studio on May 6.

Take-Two is now pointing its lawyers towards Apogee Software, which created the 3D Realms label in 1994.

According to Bloomberg , Take-Two claims in a lawsuit filed May 13 that Apogee "continually delayed the completion date for the Duke Nukem Forever" and "repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing [sic] development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever."

The lawsuit alleges Take-Two acquired a $12m publishing rights agreement in 2000 to punt the game. The pact was extended again in 2007 for an unspecified amount.

ShackNews has reportedly got its hands on court documents for the case, which demand 3D Realms not alter or leak the game's assets while the lawsuit plays out. ®