Last December there was an article on Wired called Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem that talked about the rise and fall of what some would call one of the most storied franchises in gaming history. Here is a snip:

To videogame fans, that logo is instantly recognizable. It’s the insignia of Duke Nukem 3D, a computer game that revolutionized shoot-’em-up virtual violence in 1996. Featuring a swaggering, steroidal, wisecracking hero, Duke Nukem 3D became one of the top-selling videogames ever, making its creators very wealthy and leaving fans absolutely delirious for a sequel. The team quickly began work on that sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, and it became one of the most hotly anticipated games of all time.

It was never completed.

Hilarious bit of history: back in 2000 my wife thought she was all set for my Christmas. I am a pain to shop for, so when I gave my wife two upcoming games that she could pre-order on Amazon.com she was thrilled! The games were Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Duke Nukem Forever. After a while she was notified that one, then the other wasn’t going to make Christmas delivery. Then she was notified that one pre-order, then the other was going to be canceled because neither publisher could give a realistic release date. Soon Obi-Wan for the PC was killed, though a new version was released for the brand new XBOX (though it never looked nearly as cool as that PC trailer!). Duke Nukem forever continued getting news – mostly as the butt of jokes and on year-end vaporware lists, most famously on the The “Duke Nukem Forever” List – but seemed for all practical purposes to be dead, and in 2009 that death was confirmed as 3D Realms was shuttered.

So it is with some hesitation that I report ANYTHING about Duke Nukem … but at PAX this year the biggest buzz was related to GearBox Studios, creators of Borderlands and Gears of War, having bought the Duke Nukem franchise rights … and showing some video and stills from the game as well as more concrete information!

GearBox CEO Randy Pitchford says that the basic development is complete, the game is being polished, and says there will PC, PS3, X360 release in 2011:

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford there are just confirmed that development on Duke Nukem Forever is completes. The title’s being “polished” and will sees released in 2011.

Speaking at PAX in Seattle tonight, Pitchford also confirmed that the title would be released on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

“When Duke ran into trouble, we were glad to [help him out of] to spot,” said Pitchford. “You can’t let the Duke die, right”

2kGames was furiously tweeting about it all during PAX, including this one:

Duke Nukem Forever is a video game that you can play in 2011! #dnf #dukenukemforever http://twitpic.com/2kw2a2 http://twitpic.com/2kw1zg

Additionally, there is a press release, with a few interesting tidbits:

2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that forever is nearly here, as Duke Nukem Forever® will officially make its long-awaited debut for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC in calendar 2011.

Duke Nukem, the interactive entertainment industry’s most irreverent and quoted character of all time, will bring his signature brand of babe-lovin’, cigar-smoking, beer-chugging and ass-kicking action as he once again saves the Earth and our babes from hordes of invading aliens. In other shocking news, Duke Nukem Forever will be playable right now for all attendees 17 and older of this year’s Penny Arcade Expo at the 2K Booth (booth #3417), giving the first hands-on experience with the game that was originally announced during the tail end of the Clinton Administration.

“Hail to the king, baby! It’s unbelievable, it kicks ass and it’s totally going to happen!” said Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software, “Gearbox has enabled die-hard key Duke Nukem franchise builders and skilled veteran game makers to stand together and deliver. All gamers deserve a happy ending and after all of us gamers feeling the full range of emotions about Duke Nukem Forever, I am thrilled to be in a position with the trust, power and means to make it happen. Am I crazy? Balls of steel, baby, balls of steel!”

2K Games also opened up the floor to allow folks to get some hands-on time with the game. They had recorded and posted some live footage of folks playing, which of course is also on YouTube:

Finally, Kotaku has an article on how Duke Nukem was ‘brought back to life’ by GearBox. Some interesting stuff, such as:

The events of the spring of 2009 seemed, to outside observers, to destroy Duke Nukem Forever. The truth is that the game lingered on.

One of the co-creators of the well-known Duke Nukem character, Allen Blum, was among the 3D Realms developers fired in May of 2009. He was a veteran. “He couldn’t let it go,” Pitchford said. “I wouldn’t either. He decided to keep it going.” So, post 3D Realms, Duke Nukem Forever development continued in the apartments of some of the laid off staff. It became, essentially, a garage game. “I got wind of it,” Pitchford said. “I came around and checked things out.”

The ex-3D-Realms guys didn’t have much hope of getting Duke Nukem Forever released. They didn’t have the contractual, legal rights to release the game. But 3D Realms co-owner Scott Miller worked out an agreement with Blum so that they could continue creating Duke Nukem Forever, Pitchford said. They could work on the game. But with lawsuits flying, who was going to put this thing out? Miller contacted Pitchford to see if the latter could turn this project into a reality.

“I kind of got myself in the middle there,” Pitchford recalled. The Gearbox boss didn’t want to go into all the details at PAX of the business deal that would revive Duke. He offered the abbreviated version.

“The short story of it is: Because of my history with Duke, because of my relationship with Scott and George, because of the trust and respect that Gearbox and Take Two were able to build through our work together with Borderlands, and through the capabilities that I have built with my team to be able to ship games on these platforms — because of all of these things, I was in a spot that, if I took a bet and got in there and put myself in the line of fire in the middle of this thing, I knew that I could bring all these pieces together and that I could save Duke.

“I just knew it was going to work. I took the risk. I bet on Duke.”

By all accounts the demo at PAX was an astounding success. Melding a top-notch shooter with stunning graphics and Duke’s characteristic womanizing and irreverent humor and all-out macho violence, GearBox seems to have absolutely nailed this one. Folks noted that performance and controls and just about everything was perfectly executed … to the point that 2011 cannot come soon enough!

For me, let me just say that I am not going to have my wife pre-order Duke Nukem Forever … again! That said, I know that I *will* be playing it on the day of release. Duke Nukem 3D was my 2nd favorite game of the 1st generation of shooters (Dark Forces was my fave), and remains a game I go back to frequently because it is such a well designed and realized blast! From all I have seen and read, it looks like GearBox is ready to have one of the all-time coups of gaming: bringing back a legend from the dead, and doing it with a game that is actually going to make gamers forgive the lies, broken promises and trail of years!

Source: Wall Street Journal … and pretty much every gaming site on Earth!