Empire Interactive drops the "3DO Project" over risk of prolonged legal disputes

Empire Interactive, which announced in early 2026 that it had acquired the brand and part of the intellectual property rights of The 3DO Company alongside project lead Işık Şekercigil, confirmed in early July that it was fully withdrawing from the "3DO Project." The initiative aimed to relaunch production of compatible hardware and remaster part of the catalog of Panasonic's defunct 1993 console.

In a statement issued on July 2, 2026, the company explained it had backed out "given the niche nature of this market and the likelihood of prolonged legal disputes," rather than engaging in a lengthy legal battle against the multiple rights holders involved.

The situation turned out to be far more tangled than expected: Canadian company Throwback Entertainment still holds the 3DO trademark rights in the United States and Canada, while Piko Interactive, the former holder of the US rights, along with Panasonic, Goldstar and several other former licensed console manufacturers, each retain distinct claims over the name or the technology.

This withdrawal doesn't necessarily close the door on future attempts to revive the brand, but it once again highlights how difficult it is to untangle rights accumulated over more than three decades before a defunct console can legally return, an obstacle well known to game preservation advocates.

Source: Time Extension

Image credit: “3DO-FZ1-Console-Set” by Evan-Amos, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).