GU Comics by: Woody Hearn

3D Realms, developer of the Duke Nukem franchise, will be fully shut down by the end of the week. Though nothing has been said specifically about the fate of Duke Nukem Forever, we can only assume that this will close the doors on a project that has drug on for 12 years. It should be noted however that Take-Two retains publishing rights should someone pick up the assets and finally bring the game to the table. 3D Realms' closing will not affect the development of Duke Nukem Trilogy for the DS and PSP.
Source: Gamasutra [ more info ]

GU's last look at Duke Nukem Forever was over a year ago, and even then we were skeptical of a suggested "late 2008" release. The gaming community has been given hints, teasers, and "release date"s for 12 years. So, who among us is really surprised that the game is unlikely to ever go gold? So, from my perspective this is the death knell for DNF. It's time for our flying pigs to lay their jet packs to rest and bid adieu to the Duke.

Now, a lot of people reported this news to me. Most of them mentioned the Zapper. But, GU has never put DNF near the zapper. There's a simple reason for that. Duke Nukem Forever has been in development longer than GU has existed. And no information has ever convinced me that the game was anything more than vaporware. So since I wasn't convinced the game would ever be released, it never existed to be zapped.

As always, I hate seeing a studio close. But in economical times such as this, if you're still toiling away on a project after 12 years and no release date is in sight, it's going to be exceedingly difficult to continue generating the funds needed to keep the doors open. Best of luck displaced Devs. And, Goodbye Duke.

[ discuss ] - replies ( 28 ) last post by: Arcona