Coming from the “Oh my god you can’t be serious!” department is news from Game Informer that Duke Nukem Forever finally has a release date.
The much-maligned title will finally hit PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles worldwide on May 6, 2011, finally allowing gamers to “come get some.” The game has achieved almost legendary status. For some it is the holy grail of gaming, mythical yet unattainable. For others it has become the biggest farce in gaming; a source of material for parody and ridicule.
“The moment fans all over the world have been waiting for is almost here,” says Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “May 6, 2011 marks Duke’s return as he unleashes his brash and brutally honest wit on the world. His return is going to be epic and one that will make video gaming history!”
Veteran geeks will remember that the title has been in development since 1997, suffered numerous engine changes, a change in developer, lawsuits from its publisher and, of course, an in-game alien invasion. The game"s development accelerated, however, when Gearbox Software took over the project last year. They demoed the game at last years PAX gaming show (see video below [NSFW for censored nudity and language]) to an enthusiastic audience and, finally, there was a sense that this was real; that this was actually happening.
Serious questions remain, however, regarding George Broussard’s leadership of the project whilst 3D Realms was developing it. How could this have been allowed to languish so long? Why could he not have done what Gearbox has thus far accomplished?
Time will tell if this is the epic title gamers have been waiting for, or of it will be the biggest gargantuan failure in gaming history.
Thanks to Byron for passing these screenshots and box art on from 2k.