Duke Nukem's revival in safe hands with Gearbox

by Steven Mostyn - Sep 6 2010, 04:40

Fans of first-person shooters looking to “kick ass and chew bubble gum” while mindlessly destroying alien hordes may have thought the future was limited to authentically realistic military shooters after long-standing Duke Nukem creator 3D Realms went down the tubes in 2009, pulling the plug on Duke Nukem Forever in the process.

However, Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford surprised everyone late last week when he announced that the Duke's long anticipated adventure is not only alive and well, but is also ready for action. Pitchford, a former developer on Forever, revealed at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) that he felt the Duke shouldn't be left to die, which spurred Gearbox on to purchase the game's rights from 3D Realms.

“This is actually happening. Can you believe this?” Pitchford said during a Gearbox panel at PAX. “We don't want the dream to die. We brought all of the guys back together. We want to finish the game. Preserve what they made. Add to it. Expand it.”

Texas-based Gearbox has a fair amount of experience under its belt where first-person shooters are concerned, which should mean the Duke's resurrection is in good hands. Specifically, the studio has made various Half-Life expansion packs along with hit titles such as Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Borderlands.

Duke Nukem Forever will be published by 2K Games in 2011 and will be released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.

By way of proving Duke Nukem Forever's existence, and also just how close to release the game is, we've posted a link to some hands-on action filmed during the Penny Arcade Expo.

Yes indeed, the Duke really is back. Click below to watch some alien ass kicking.

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