Hail to the King, Baby.

SEPT. 3, 2010 • Duke Nukem Forever is getting resurrected thanks to Gearbox Software, which acquired the rights to the oft-delayed project from 3D Realms. Take-Two will continue as publisher. Gearbox started work finishing the game in 2009, and plans to release it in 2011. The sequel to the mid-’90s hit FPS Duke Nukem 3D has been in development since 1997.

Impact: Duke Nukem Forever fell victim to the obsessive expectations at 3D Realms that the title not be outdone by other FPS titles in development. Thirteen years later and DNF never got out of the Petri dish. Gearbox is an excellent adoptive parent. The studio is efficiently run, and its president, Randy Pitchford, fully understands the mechanics that made Duke 3D successful since he was a member of the original team. As Gearbox now owns the IP, they have an incentive to finish DNF strongly in order to extend the franchise further.