The King of Vaporware may soon have to relinquish his crown. Developers 2K and Gearbox Software announced today, in a lush ceremony fronted by a fleet of flying pigs, that the video game Duke Nukem Forever, first announced in 1997, will actually, finally, unequivocally, and without question be released for PC, PlayStation 3, and XBox 360 systems in North America on May 3, with an international launch to follow on May 6. Of this year, 2011. For real.
Few games in modern history have boasted the tortured provenance of Duke Nukem Forever, which even cynical industry wags long ago gave up as a lost cause. Originally intended for release in 1998, it was kicked around for most of the following ten years, earning Wired's award for "Vaporware of the Year" in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009; it finished second in 2000, 11th last year, and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
Lawsuits, mass layoffs, and rekindled promises kept the "will it or won't it" waves rushing, until September 2009, when original publisher, 3D Realms, officially shut down production on it. That's when Brothers in Arms and Borderlands developer Gearbox Software entered the picture, agreeing to help the remaining members of the game's original team (now Triptych Games) finally do what seeming previous generations of developers and executives couldn't: get the game onto store shelves. Its re-emergence at last year's Penny Arcade Expo—where some intrepid showgoers actually got to play it—cemented the notion that the game was, despite all previous appearances to the contrary, real, and would be out soon.
According to a Gearbox press release, Duke Nukem Forever finds the titular woman-loving, "cigar-smoking, beer-chugging" hero fighting "pig cops, alien shrink rays, and enormous alien bosses" while trying "to save the world, save the babes, and to be a bad-ass while doing it." Present, as always before in the series, are "an arsenal of over-the-top weapons, nonstop action, and unprecedented levels of interactivity. This game puts the pedal to the metal and tongue firmly in cheek."
In a statement, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford said, "When I said goodbye to 3D Realms and the original Duke Nukem 3D team in 1997 and soon after founded Gearbox Software, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that a day like today would come. Today I am proud, humbled and even astounded to announce that the day is coming at last for all gamers to be a part of video game history: Duke Nukem Forever will launch worldwide this May!"
The previous game in the series, Duke Nukem 3D, was released in 1996. See the most recent game-play trailer below or for more details, pinch yourself and visit www.dukenukemforever.com.