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A new development in the never-ending saga that is Duke Nukem Forever -- or, as we like to call it, Duke Nukem The Ever ... Living! -- has now revealed itself on Facebook. Specifically, Duke Nukem's Facebook page -- we totally friended him -- has been posting screenshots that appear to be from the ill-fated Duke Nukem Forever. As Big Download notes, the shots focus on one giant boss monster stalking what looks like Hoover Dam. We also get a nice render of one of the series floating squid-monster-things and another cybernetic monstrosity.

For its part, 3D Realms claims that work on Duke Nukem Forever continues, despite the ongoing legal battle surrounding it. For our part, we can only marvel that we're now seeing more of Duke Nukem Forever after its death than we ever saw during its development.

Shacknews reports that the developer of Duke Begins -- the Duke Nukem prequel project being developed not by 3D Realms, but rather by publisher Take-Two and a "well-known videogame developer" -- was, in fact, Gearbox Software. If that name sounds familiar that's because – like coffee shops and mysterious rashes – the Texas-based developer pops up all over the place, whether in reference to the long-overdue Aliens: Colonial Marines; the recently re-skinned Borderlands; or the oft-rumored Halo 4.

As revealed by recent court documents, Gearbox was brought on to develop Duke Begins following a 2007 agreement between 3D Realms and Take-Two. In exchange for the rights to make another Duke game, 3D Realms received a cool $2.5 million advance to help fund the ongoing development of Duke Nukem Forever (and, in turn, extend the practice of wondering aloud, "How on Earth can 3D Realms afford to keep making this game?").

3D Realms claims that the "halted" development of Duke Begins in April 2009 "materially harmed Apogee and/or will necessarily delay the commercial release of the Duke Begins game." They claimed that any such delay in release would "delay any royalty payments ... from sales of the Duke Begins game and prevent Apogee from being able to repay the [$2.5 million] advance when it becomes due in 2012." And now you begin to see where all this talk of lawsuits came from. We've put word into Gearbox and Take-Two and will let you know what we hear.

Did you seriously think he'd just roll over and die? He's Duke Nukem, guys. We're pretty sure he can't be killed by conventional weapons (such as bankruptcy).

This news came in response to last month's Take-Two court filing against Duke Nukem Forever developer Apogee Software, which attempted to recoup loans the publisher had distributed to Apogee -- loans which would have ostensibly been repaid by DNF royalties. Apogee's attorneys responded Friday with a shocking revelation -- in exchange for their support, Apogee gave Take-Two the rights to simultaneously develop another Duke Nukem game. Take-Two tasked 2K Games with said development under the working title Duke Begins.

Apogee's defense states that 2K "halted or otherwise canceled all development work by the third-party game developer on the Duke Begins game in April 2009," an action Apogee sees as Take-Two's attempt at, "pressuring Apogee to sell the Duke Nukem franchise rights to Take-Two for less than their true value." With the cat officially out of the bag, we expect to hear more about the Duke's origin story (like, if it's still being developed) in the near future.

[Update: Turns out that the mysterious third-party developer working on Duke Begins for Take-Two was none other than Gearbox Software.]

If you think id Software would gloat openly about the cancellation of its one-time competitor, Duke Nukem Forever, you may be surprised to hear the reaction of Steve Nix, director of business development for id:

"For me it was personally sad," he told Videogamer. "I know a lot of people at the studio were really surprised and saddened for sure." He went on to explain the historical connection between the two companies: "We had originally moved to Dallas because Apogee, who morphed into 3D Realms, was our original publisher. So id might not even be in Dallas and a lot of us wouldn't even be working in the games industry if it wasn't for Apogee and 3D Realms."

Nix said that he "thought (the news of the cancellation) was a joke when I heard the other day." He also noted that id is currently hiring, and that "There are some really talented guys in (3D Realms) so it very well could happen that some of them end up at id." Overall, it's a pretty measured and sensitive response from the company who popularized "gibs."

It's finally happened! Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee speaks glorificously about a title without the distinct smell of [edited] having been [edited] in his [edited] by someone from Valve or Double Fine. Duke Nukem Forever is the masterpiece that made the once bad boy of game reviews open his heart and learn to love again like an overused British analogy that we should write here.

Anyway, it's been a long time coming, but any love Duke Nukem Forever can receive deserves to be spread far and wide on the internets. That game is awesome! Check out the ZP review at The Escapist as the embed doesn't seem to work given the game's fantabulousness.

It's become clear as of late that Duke Nukem Forever has become a topic that we can't ignore. Today is no exception, with 3D Realms releasing its first public statement since the dissolving of the game's development team and saying that it's "not closed and is not closing." Though the developer admits Take-Two "retains publishing rights to the game [DNF]," it's positing an ability to "sell the game directly to the public."

Furthermore, the company is charging Take-Two with bully tactics for the way it has treated 3D Realms over the past year or so of negotiation. 3DR says Take-Two tried to force a "fire sale" out of the situation and due to this, 3DR left the table as of May 4. As the release pointedly notes, this was only two days before the news broke of the original events, and a flood of screenshots and video of the game was loosed on the public. Seems like we've got more litigation on our hands! Yeehaw!

If the development of Duke Nukem Forever was a troubled marriage, welcome to the nasty, drawn-out divorce.

Shacknews reports that court documents it obtained from the case of Take-Two Interactive vs. Apogee Software have the former demanding, well, custody of the unfinished game's source code. It also seeks to prevent Apogee from "disclosing, distributing, transferring or selling to any party other than Take-Two any proprietary information related to DNF." In short, Take-Two wants what it claims it paid for, and wants it now.

3D Realms co-founder, Scott Miller, wrote in a comment on Shacknews that the DNF developer "never saw a penny of that money," referring to the $12 million Take-Two says it paid Apogee for publishing rights to the game in 2000.

If there's anything positive to be taken away from this litigation situation, it's that Take-Two evidently plans on ensuring a return on its investment in DNF -- possibly to the extent of taking all the game's assets and continuing its development elsewhere.

[Via BigDownload]

The game may never be released, but its legacy may live on forever. Duke Nukem Forever, which 3D Realms was supposedly working on from 1997 right up until it closed its doors on May 6, is at the center of a lawsuit filed by its would-be publisher, Take-Two Interactive. But who's left to sue? The still-operating Apogee Software, which created the 3D Realms brand in 1994.

According to Bloomberg News, Take-Two alleges in a lawsuit filed May 13 that Apogee "continually delayed the completion date for the Duke Nukem Forever" and "repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing (sic) development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever." The suit states that Take-Two paid Apogee a sum of $12 million for the publishing rights to the game. The partnership was extended as recently as 2007, according to details of the case.

We've contacted Apogee and Take-Two for comment on the pending suit. Apogee is currently involved with the production of Duke Nukem Trilogy for PSP and Nintendo DS, announced at E3 2008.

[Via BigDownload]

Unfortunately, it seems that the death of 3D Realms was the best way for us to get our hands on the largest collection of Duke Nukem Forever screens we've ever seen, and now, footage of the game in action. Found on ex-3D Realms employee Bryan Brewer's personal website (found after the break due to its NSFW-ness), we're treated to the ubiquitous pig cops (now with the ability to jump and climb, apparently) as well as a variety of Duke vulgarities you likely won't want your mother to hear.

If anything, the footage proves that a ton of different gameplay was actually finished and -- we're not gonna lie here -- looks pretty decent. We didn't spot any jetpack totin' reptilian enemies unfortunately, but we can only presume the folks at 3D Realms were waiting until the last possible minute to show off such nostalgia laden insanity. Wait, isn't right now the last possible minute?

Capping off a week that saw the developer close its doors after 21 years of operation and its ridiculously long-in-development Duke Nukem Forever left unfinished, 3D Realms has updated its website with a group staff photo and a brief, somber goodbye to gamers. Community manager Joe Siegler made what is likely his final update to the defunct company's website, posting simply, "Thanks for being fans and for all your support."

No, thank you. Thanks for all the great games -- even that one that never came out but provided us with so much gag material over the years. That said, it's time for Joystiq Publishing to begin its next project: 3D Realms Forever. It'll be out next year, promise.

[Via Shacknews]

Having just lost their positions at 3D Realms, artists Chris Smith, Trammell Issac and Layne Johnson have created new blogs to show off their previous work in search of a new industry gig. Included on all three blogs are concept art, renders and pretty much more than we've ever seen of Duke Nukem Forever. Just prior to press time, Chris Smith's blog was taken offline, but the images were saved and can be viewed in the gallery below.

If 3D Realms closing its doors proved anything, it was that Duke Nukem Forever's 13-year development odyssey really was happening all along. Unfortunately, since the house that built Duke has closed up shop, the '90s hero's latest adventure will tentatively be referred to as Duke Nukem For-Never... until someone else gets crazy enough to take over development.


[Thanks, Darius B.]

Duke Nukem developer 3D Realms has closed its doors, according to Shacknews. The developer was reportedly forced to cease operations due to funding issues, prompting it and Apogee Software Inc. to lay off all staff. Perhaps developing one title for more than a decade wasn't a great strategy.

3D Realms was founded by George Broussard and Scott Miller in 1987, but became a household name with Duke Nukem 3D in 1996. While 3D Realms is also known for publishing high profile titles, such as Max Payne, the studio has become famous for developing Duke Nukem Forever for the last 13 years. Joystiq has reached out to 3D Realms and its publishing partner, Take-Two Interactive, for comment.

Update: A studio representative has commented on the rumor regarding 3D Realms. Although it isn't a confirmation, it does hint a situation is brewing at the house that built Duke: "Deep Silver and Apogee Software are not affected by the situation at 3D Realms. Development on the Duke Nukem Trilogy is continuing as planned."

Update 2: Alan Lewis, Vice President of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs for Take-Two Interactive has sent us an official statement regarding the situation at 3D Realms: "It is the Company's policy to not comment on its contractual relationships, nor do we comment on rumors and speculation. That said, we can confirm that our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title. In addition, Take-Two continues to retain the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever."‪

Update 3: 3D Realms webmaster Joe Siegler has confirmed rumors of a 3D Realms shut down are true, posting "It's not a marketing thing. It's true. I have nothing further to say at this time" on the 3D Realms official forum.

Update 4: 3DRealms.com and the site's official forum are experiencing issues at this time due to the volume of visitors. The sites have not been removed at this time.

3D Realms' George Broussard has tweeted that the company is closing out a milestone, claiming that the gang is down to 71 tasks out of "probably 800-900." The Escapist presumes he's talking about Duke Nukem Forever and also notes that it's not the only milestone the game is close to reaching: at the end of April, it'll have been 12 years since the Forever was first announced. Remember we celebrated its 10th un-birthday, um, like two years ago?

We were obviously puzzled with Broussard's tweet and contacted the developer for clarification, to which a 3D Realms representative replied, "Sorry, but all I can say is, 'When it's done.'" Sheesh. Hopefully, the last thing on that list of 800-900 things is "Done Duke Nukem ... forever!"

[Via Escapist; ClanBase]

Wired, embracing the redundancy of doing so, has named Duke Nukem Forever as the top piece of vaporware in 2008. As we've made abundantly clear in the past, much has happened since Nukem's latest adventure was first announced back in 1997. Wired was going to leave the perennial favorite off the list this year because "even the best jokes get old eventually," but obviously thought the DNF horse -- with a DNR order -- still had enough life left in it for one more jab.

Keeping the dream alive that DNF may be coming to the end of a very, very (x12) long development cycle was its appearance on the Jace Hall show earlier this year. However, that was followed up by more teaser images. Keep hope alive, Duke faithful. Keep hope alive.