Empire Interactive abandons 3DO revival after less than a week

Empire Interactive has abandoned its attempt to revive the 3DO console brand less than a week after announcing it had acquired related trademarks. The company said the project was dropped because of fragmented intellectual property rights and the risk of prolonged legal disputes.

The move comes after Throwback Entertainment, which owns the 3DO trademark and 3DO.com domain, contested Empire’s initial claims. Empire later clarified its registration covered only game development and publishing under “The 3DO Company” mark, not console manufacturing rights, which involve Panasonic, Goldstar, and several other rights holders. The company admitted it “did not anticipate such fragmentation of rights” and chose to withdraw rather than fight.

The 1993 3DO Interactive Multiplayer has a dizzying rights history, and this episode shows just how tangled it still is. A console revival that collapses in under a week is a blunt reminder that nostalgia for defunct hardware runs headfirst into legal reality. Empire says it will now focus on developing its own new games.