Duke Nukem Forever may have been banished to development hell, but the Duke's story isn't done. Aside from Apogee and Deep Silver's Duke Nukem Trilogy for the PSP and DS, Apogee says that 2K Games is also working on another Duke Nukem game.

True enough, Apogee Software's Duke Nukem announcement did come along this week! And do we hear of anything about the status of Duke Nukem Forever? Why, of course not! And what's the big announcement? They're holding auditions for a live-action Duke Nukem model to strut around the country and market Duke's upcoming games!

...Oh, would you look at that?! Tumbleweed...

So 3D Realms has shut down, thus making everyone believe that Duke Nukem Forever's gone back to the hole it once crawled out from. But if Apogee Software COO Terry Nagy is to be taken for consideration, we may here some word about the official status of DNF next week. It's either that or we get hear about the handheld trilogy set to come out for the PSP and DS.

Just when you thought Duke Nukem Forever was finally gonna claw its way out of the vaporware bin (seriously, did anybody really think it would?), here comes what could be the final nail in the game's coffin: developer 3D Realms has reportedly shut down.

Remember Earth No More, the multiplatform shooter announced by 3D Realms in the middle of last year? Well, it looks like the game's hit a bump on its development path as two men have sued 3D Realms for allegedly stealing their game idea. More in the full article.

In an interview over at YouGamers, Scott Miller, founder of Apogee (now known as 3DRealms), assures that Duke Nukem Forever is being worked on. Yes folks, despite the game being treated as a punchline, and being used as an epitome of vaporware, Miller says that it's been resurrected, and in Eugene Huang of GamePro's words: making good progress.

It's nice to note that 3D Realms takes full blame for the delay. Here's Miller's words:

First, we fully admit we’re [sic] screwed up the development of DNF, and it’s now an industry joke. I laugh (and cry) when I think about it, too. Our fault is that we set the bar too high, and we tried too hard to make the game to beat all games. In the last 18 months we’ve taken a much more realistic look at the project, we’ve hired a truckload of experienced help, and I personally believe we are now on the right track... finally.

As for the question of Duke’s lasting appeal, I believe strongly that it doesn’t matter at all. DNF will succeed or fail not because of the Duke brand, but solely based on whether the game is great, or not. The original Duke Nukem 3D didn’t have a large fan following, and yet it succeeded. DNF will have to stand on its own just the same.

The game is reportedly in full development and has a 33 man team working on it. Publishing wise, Take-Two Interactive has inherited 3D Realms' original agreement with GT Interactive back in the 90s. Miller notes that the original agreement does allow them to sell the game directly through an online digital service, and that they plan to do so.

Yes, they're taking forever, but at least they're admitting they messed up. So yeah, they're taking criticism pretty well. In fact Miller even has a favourite Duke Nukem Forever joke here's him talking about it: "It's hard to resist the cold, cruel, but true: Duke Nukem Taking Forever. My two sons, in particular, love to slam me with this one."

They plan to bring DNF to multiple platforms. However, Miller has refrained from noting which ones.