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Duke Nukem Forever

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This page details pre-release information and/or media for Duke Nukem Forever.

DifferencesEvery difference, change and upgrade (or downgrade!) throughout development. CharactersCharacters, from those who appear in the final game, ones only in early builds and everyone in between. Concept ArtWith so much discarded concepts for this game, it's bound to need its own page!

Development Timeline#

The full complete timeline of Duke Nukem Forever.

Early DevelopmentRandom ideas for the game, including when it wasn't even a Duke game or sequel talk when Duke Nukem 3D hadn't shipped yet! 1996The almost 15-year journey begins as a side-scroller. 1997With the 2D platformer discarded, internal development at 3D Realms begins the in the Quake engine with the game officially announced. 1998The game moves into the Quake II engine with its first gameplay and trailer shown off at E3, but it's not too long before the change to Unreal Engine. 1999The transition from id Tech 2 to Unreal engine begins, updates quiet down for a while until the end of the year. 20003D Realms continues working on the game but hey, at least Duke found his way with G.O.D. 2001The game's second appearance at E3 produces a lot of hype thanks to the trailer. 2002The KARMA physics engine is implemented into the game. 2003Fancy new lighting tech is implemented into the game 2004The game also gets a new physics engine from Meqon. 2005-2006Developers have been living en masse since the end of December 2005. Official updates become scarcer. 2007-2008Updates for the game begin to pick up again, with a new screenshot or video showing up every now and then. 2009With additional funding unable to be negotiated, development is suspended and 3D Realms lays off its entire staff, eventually leading to a lawsuit from Take-Two. For a brief while, it seemed like things were done for Duke... 2010But never fear, Gearbox Software is here! Triptych Games moves into Gearbox to get help with finishing the game, with it being re-announced at PAX later that year. 2011-2012The homestretch of development, one last delay and the eventual release!

Gearbox's Official Timeline#

Gearbox included a timeline of their own as a part of the extras in the final game. Located in Extras/Development Timeline.

! style="text-align:center; color:inherit" |DNF DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
  • May, 1996 - Version 1.3d of Duke Nukem 3D (Retail) is shipped to game retailers worldwide. Duke Nukem 3D is a massive success that for many defined an entire generation of gaming. Conceptualization and discussion of a sequel immediately begins inside 3D Realms headquarters near Dallas, Texas.
  • June, 1996 - Duke Nukem 4Ever, a 2D side scrolling game produced by Keith Schuler, has development suspended in favor of prioritizing a Duke Nukem 3D add-on pack and a sequel.
  • June, 1996 - GT Interactive acquires the publishing rights for Duke Nukem Forever in a licensing agreement with 3D Realms.
  • December, 1996 - The Quake 1 engine is licensed by 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever, permanently replacing the Build engine. Most of the Duke Nukem 3D team, led by original Duke Nukem developers Todd Replogle and Allen H. Blum III, begins research and development with the technology for the game.
  • April, 1997 - Duke Nukem Forever is officially announced by 3D Realms with the intention to release in1998. Likewise, 3D Realms also officially announces that DNF will be created with the Quake 2 Engine.
  • May, 1997 - Randy Pitchford and Brain Martel, founders of Gearbox Software, leave 3D Realms to help form Rebal Boat Rocker and then later Gearbox Software.
  • November, 1997 - Duke Nukem Forever appears on the cover of PC Gamer magazine. Inside are the first screenshots ever released for the game.
  • May, 1998 - The first reveal trailer for Duke Nukem Forever is released to the public during the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
  • June, 1998 - 3D Realms announces a change to the Unreal Engine for Duke Nukem Forever.
  • March, 1999 - 3D Realms announces that Megadeth is to cover and record the theme song for Duke Nukem Forever.
  • November, 1999 - PC Gamer's infamous 'Miss Me?' cover story, featuring Duke Nukem Forever, hits newsstands. Inside are a large number of new screenshots for Duke Nukem Forever that expose how the game looks with a new engine.
  • December, 1999 - GT Interactive, the publisher of Duke Nukem Forever, is purchased by Infogrames. Publishing rights for Duke Nukem Forever are transferred.
  • May, 2000 - Gathering of Developers, a publisher comprised entirely of developer members (including 3D Realms), is purchased by Take-Two Interactive.
  • December, 2000 - Gathering of Developers announces that the company has acquired publishing rights for the highly anticipated Duke Nukem Forever. Take-Two Interactive also acquires the publishing rights for the complete catalog of already-released Duke Nukem products including publishing rights to certain future products.
  • May, 2001 - At E3 2001, the highly regarded Duke Nukem Forever 10th anniversary trailer is released. It is arguably considered to be one of the best video game trailers of all time.
  • September, 2004 - 3d Realms announces that anew in-game physics system, Meqon Game Dynamics, has been chosen for Duke Nukem Forever.
  • August, 2006 - Shacknews reports and confirms a rumor that a large contingent of employees had left 3D Realms. Most of them have relocated to Gearbox Software which is in the Dallas area.
  • July, 2007 - The famous "Ventrilo Harassment" video using the voice of Duke Nukem to torment on-line game players was uploaded to YouTube and has been viewed more than 6 million times.
  • December, 2007 - Shacknews breaks the first video teaser for Duke Nukem Forever in over 6 years. Included were small snippets of in-game footage.
  • September, 2008 - Users discover Duke Nukem Forever unlockable screenshots in the re-release of Duke Nukem 3D.
  • December, 2008 - The last official Duke Nukem Forever screenshot from 3D Realms is released to the community.
  • May, 2009 - The story that 3D Realms has laid off the Duke Nukem Forever development team breaks and tops gaming news websites around the world.
  • May, 2009 - Take-Two Interactive and 3D Realms submit legal arguments regarding disagreements about the business arrangement for developing and publishing the game.
  • June, 2009 - Gearbox and 3D Realms begin negotiation of an asset purchase agreement for the Duke Nukem franchise and Duke Nukem Forever. The business agreement is finalized and executed approximately six months later and ownership of the game and brand is transferred to Gearbox Software.
  • June, 2009 - Triptych Games is formed from several ex-3D realms employees and a couple of new individuals.
  • July, 2009 - Triptych Games signs paperwork with 3D Realms to complete the Duke Nukem Forever single-player campaign.
  • August, 2009 - Duke Nukem Forever's narrative is written at Triptych and approved by 3D Realms. Triptych gets to surprise Jon St. John - the famous English language voice actor who originally played Duke Nukem - with a phone call: 'Hell has finally frozen over.'
  • November, 2009 - Single-player work on Duke Nukem Forever content is complete.
  • December, 2009 - Gearbox and 2K games begin renegotiation of the publishing agreement for Duke Nukem Forever. The business agreement is finalized and executed approximately six months later with 2K Games and Take-Two Interactive, securing long-term publishing rights to Duke Nukem.
  • January, 2010 - Triptych Games locks down their single-player version of the game and begins negotiations with Gearbox Software.
  • February, 2010 - Triptych relocates to Gearbox's offices in the plano, Texas Bank of America Tower and resumes work alongside Gearbox and Piranha to help port Duke Nukem Forever to consoles, add multiplayer, and polish features within the game.
  • May, 2010 - Take-Two and 3D Realms resolve and settle all differences regarding legal complaints from the previous year.
  • September, 2010 - Gearbox and 2K Games surprise the public by showing off the first playable build of Duke Nukem Forever at PAX 2010.
  • September, 2010 - Gearbox publicly announces that it has acquired the Duke Nukem brand.
  • October, 2010 - 2K Games and Gearbox Software announce the Duke Nukem Forever First Access Club to be included in every copy of the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition, allowing participating customers first access to the Duke Nukem Forever consumer demo.
  • December, 2010 - Duke Nukem Forever reappears in the holiday issue of PC Gamer with the same headline as his cover 11 years prior - 'Miss Me?'
  • January, 2011 - Gearbox Software announces the release date of May 3rd for Duke Nukem Forever along with the first reveal trailer with 2K Games for Duke Nukem Forever since 2007.
  • February, 2011 - Duke Nukem, with the help of Borderland's Claptrap, opens the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences 2011 Interactive Achievement Awards in Las Vegas. The show, hosted by comedian Jay Mohr is streamed live over the internet and broadcast on television via G4 TV.
  • June, 2011 - Gearbox Software and 2K Games release the first consumer demo for Duke Nukem Forever.
  • June 2011 - Gearbox Software, alongside Triptych Games, Pirahna Games, and 3D Realms, release the approved gold masters for Duke Nukem Forever. After 15 years since work first began on a Duke Nukem 3D sequel, 2K Games launches and ships Duke Nukem Forever video games worldwide to an eager and patient audience.

(Source: DukeNukemForeverVaul)

Duke Nukem 5#

Yes, 3D Realms had talked on many occasions during Duke Nukem Forever's development about a follow-up tentatively titled Duke Nukem 5. According to Scott Miller, the game would've actually been titled Duke Nukem Vengeance, continuing the sequel pun titles of previous games (e.g. Duke Nukem 3D = Duke Nukem 3, Duke Nukem Forever = Duke Nukem 4).

Duke Nukem 5 was planned to have been one of the first games to make use of the 1997-1998 Prey's "portal technology" engine. Corrine Yu's engine.1

According to Miller, the game was planned to follow Bombshell.2

Ultimately what would've been 3D Realms vision for a Duke Nukem 5 would never be realised, considering that Duke Nukem Forever spiralled into development hell.

While many individuals from Gearbox and 2K/Take-Two discussed the possibility of future instalments following Duke Nukem Forever's release, to date Duke Nukem Forever is the latest installment in the series.

Scrapped Release of Older Builds#

Watch on YouTubeIn a livestream broadcasted on July 7th, 2017 with fan site duke4.net, Pitchford would bring up at the 49:56 mark about the possibility of releasing older builds of Duke Nukem Forever as a part of a "definite collection" for the Duke Nukem series.3

Pitchford would continue to discuss the possibility of this on many occasions on both his Twitter account and in various interviews. However, he would eventually stop discussing this possibility.

It's unclear if Gearbox will ever go forward with this idea. This has become even more uncertain following the leaking of the 2001 and 1996 prototypes in 2022.

References#

Citations

Info Yet to Be Incorporated#

Below is info that needs to get incorporated.

George Broussard

Scott Miller

Randy Pitchford

Other Developers/Misc

DNF-Ruben-the-cameras.jpg
DNF-StripperMocap1.jpg
DNF-StripperMocap2.jpg
DNF-StripperMocap3.jpg
  • Build file backups from Fredrick Schreiber, including a few source CDs that can be seen here (Sources needed).
1997 maps
1997 maps
1998
1998
1998
1998
August 2001 (source)
August 2001 (source)

Trademark Stuff

  1. Corrinne Yu joins 3D Realms as Lead Technology Programmer - 3D Realms, November 20th 1998↩︎
  2. 3D Realms Boss Sheds Light on Duke Nukem Forever's Tortured Development - IGN Unfiltered - YouTube, October 15th 2018↩︎
  3. Duke4.net Chat - YouTube, July 7th 2017↩︎