As we've witnessed with Duke Nukem Forever, the term "forever" doesn't always mean forever even though it certainly feels like forever. The Duke Nukem 3D sequel seemed like it was in development for generations -- or rather, forever -- when in fact it was chopped up and tossed around for a measly 14 years. Unfortunately, fans looking forward to the "Reloaded" remake of the original Duke Nukem 3D game may end up actually waiting forever, as the fan-based revision has been put on indefinite hold.
Indefinite. Forever. Seemingly the same thing.
"After careful consideration of the progress and direction of the project, Interceptor Entertainment has decided to finish Duke Nukem: Reloaded at a future date that is yet to be determined," the developer said on Saturday. "Interceptor Entertainment still has the good will and non commercial license provided to us to use the Duke Nukem brand for our creative ambitions. We hope to resume that work again when the time is right."
As reported earlier, this revision is/was a non-commercial, fan-based overhaul of the classic shooter using Epic's Unreal Engine 3. It even received a green light from Gearbox Software itself almost a year ago. But now it seems that Gearbox and Interceptor aren't quite seeing eye-to-eye on the project, so it's been tossed aside indefinitely.
"We are around 90-percent finished with the current Multiplayer version – but you have to remember that we don’t own the game," Reloaded’s project lead clarified in a forum post. "It’s done under a signed license with Gearbox Software, which ultimately means that we cannot do whatever we want with the project.
He goes on to add that there are some conditions which the team can’t live with [in] the license and agreement. "Because of this, we have decided to put the project on hold," he added. "This might change in the future – it all depends on what Gearbox decides to do after the DNF DLC has been released."
"We don't have a problem with a media blackout, but when the license doesn't secure us a release, we can't justify spending so much time with the development, knowing that it might never see the light of the day," he said in a later post. "That decision is not ours - it's Gearbox Software's. And at this given moment, we were unable to come to an agreement concerning a release of the game."
Sounds like another Duke Nukem project in limbo. Boo hiss.
