3D Realms has shut down...
Apparently due to funding issues, webmaster Joe Siegler has confirmed this.
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58519

http://www.duke4.net/

Well.




This sucks.

[sarcasm]Well I don't think anyone was expecting this! [/sarcasm]

Forever unreleased.

Duke Nukem Fail.

Forever vaporware, it seems.

I've been waiting for this game since 2005. Ever since I heard about its lengthy development cycle, I always wanted to play it.

No great loss. I doubt we'd have ever seen Duke Nukem Forever, and if we had, due to the length of developement, it would have looked like a 4 year old game and been a steaming pile of crap. Maybe it's for the best, saves mass disappointment.

[cough]SPORE[/cough]

abrivashion DNF enough said

give it a few years and someone else will get the rights and make a half-arsed game

I always know that Duke Nukem Forever is headed to this destine. Oh well, Duke Nukem Manhattan Project was fun.

Let me confirm first that 3D Realms is defunct. This is not a marketing hoax, gimmick, or whatever else you want to call it. 3D Realms will exist now only as a legal entity between its founders, Scott Miller and George Broussard. All employees have been let go, and we wish them the best.

That being said, former art director "Tramell Isaac" from 3D Realms has released some unofficial screenshots from the game:

2 year 9 months, Now it's over. It was fun while it lasted. I worked with an extraordinary bunch of artists, designers, and programmers. You will all be missed. I know we will cross paths again.

I'm an Art Director looking for a great project/team/opportunity. I'm hopeful that I will land somewhere soon.

Enjoy the previously unreleased DNF shots below.

The screenshots above show off the Hoover Dam, the EDF base, and the tunnel infestations by alien forces.

Here's a casino in Duke Nukem Forever we may never get to visit"

More Portfolio stuff and concept art.

Frankly, at this point I think the fans deserve something, and this will have to do for now. I reckon the rights to the game will be sold to a company like EA, and we'll eventually see it get released that way. Rest assured that the franchise is too big to die.

This is speculation on my part, but I don't think 3D Realms is in a state to be able to follow through with its development now that the entire company has fallen apart. We are still awaiting an official statement from Scott Miller or George Broussard.

http://www.duke4.net/comment.php?comment.news.265

Considering that they now release so much screenshots for a once so secretive title shows only that DNF is really dead. And I doubt very much anyone else will ever touch this title again. 3DRealms pretty much destroyed the trademark by not being able to release a product for so long. How many teenager gamers today really know what Duke Nukem is today? When I grew up Duke Nukem was THE game, everyone knew what it was. Then it silently went to oblivion.

Today Duke Nukem was just a joke for websites to use for pun. No company will keep a development project alive for this long and hoping that they would ever get the money back. They lost the hype over the trademark by letting it sit for so long and the competition in the game market is so much fierce today with a production cycle that is many times faster than before. So this title never had a chance in the first place to be released.

If they released it they would most likely face two (maybe three) scenarios, all ending up in the company bankrupting:

• The game is released but get bad reviews. Sucky game, everyone is disappointed and no one will buy it. 3DR gets a bad reputation. Extremely bad sales + extremely high development cost = Chapter 11.
• The game is released and get good reviews, but considering the high development cost they would never get the money back. Gaming industry is a quick race, today's high tech is tomorrow's low tech. Result: Chapter 11.
• The game is released, get good reviews but the game is extremely buggy. 3DR spends a lot of its money fixing the game, gets a bad reputation and doesn't get their money back. Result: Chapter 11.

Either way they lost too much money and no publisher or investor would ever touch them again. Who wants to pump money into a company that never managed to release their number one product?

Don't get me wrong, I love 3D Realms and they have done some kickass games in the past. But they had to grow up as well and keep a pace with the current gaming technology. If you wait too long you get a product that is old before it reaches the end users. Who would like a game today that looks like say, Half-Life (first one)? If you wait too short you will end up with a buggy game no one wants regardless. So to pull it through you need a very solid development team with good leadership that knows when to set fixed deadlines and push the developers to the brink of death if needed, just to get the product out the door so they can actually afford the salaries. At least this time they knew that enough was enough and put a stop to the project. The money bag was empty and no one wanted to put in more money. And hey, in the end no one works for free.

And at least we'll see some of their gold (and released!) products in the abandonware section soon.

3D Realms R.I.P. Apogee R.I.P.

So EA will release it then.

Most likely not. To release it they need to finish it first. And knowing EA they will not put in any money into finishing a project like this. EA likes fast money and easy projects. To complete this mammoth they need to hire all the developers and get back into business.

Probably should have mentioned this before..
Tramell Isaac and Layne Johnson released screenshots and concept art the other day
http://sikander.shackspace.com/DNF
http://talkinrealatyou.blogspot.com/
Go through that stuff.