Duke Nukem developer 3D Realms closes its doors.

The older 3d realms logo

Duke Nukem 3d is one of my favorite all time top 5 games. I remember enjoying the long nights playing the single player game back in high school. And then there was the deathmatch with friends other nights. You have got to love the Jet pack. It was revolutionary, there were so many interactive parts of the levels. Come on, in which other game can you flush a toilet? I am eagerly waiting for Duke 4, but alas, it has been in development, forever.

Duke Nukem as seen in the December 2007 teaser

IGN has unofficial reports that 3D Realms has closed it's doors due to financial reasons. I quote:

A statement was released on behalf of Deep Silver and Apogee Software, the two companies working on Duke Nukem portable titles. "Deep Silver and Apogee Software are not affected by the situation at 3D Realms," the statement reads. "Development on the Duke Nukem Trilogy is continuing as planned." Late last year Apogee Software was launched as a sister arm to 3D Realms.

So what does this mean to the game? It is still unsure at the moment. Take-Two Interactive has a publishing arrangement with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever. I must admit, the games title is quite fitting, it'll be in development, forever.

Duke Nukem 3d

So what trilogy are they mentioning in the quote? That is news to me. I little googling and i found this. 3D Realms had talked about it back in March, i never heard of it, being developed by the ved Apogee Software label. A preview can be found here at OhGizmo!

Wiki on 3D Realms
3D Realms (legal name Apogee Software, Ltd.) was a video game developer and publisher based in Garland, Texas established in 1987. It is best known for popularizing the shareware distribution model and as the creator of franchises on the PC such as Duke Nukem, and also the publisher of other franchises such as Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D.

This is a very sad day indeed for all fans.

IGN's article here.
Shacknews.com's report here.
Gamasutra's article here.
It's even posted on AnandTech's DailyTech site.

UPDATE: The 3D Realms website had gone down late friday and saturday, and was returned with a final good bye from the crew. You can view Toms Hardware's article here.

At this point, it would be stupid NOT to fund the development and NOT ship Duke Nukem Forever to retail; the game has the potential to fly off the shelves just in hype alone. Then again, with a twelve-year development process under its belt--and the long-awaited game STILL isn't finished--Duke Nukem Forever may find itself remaining in development limbo...forever. Although the 3D Realms website shows a final goodbye, specific details surrounding the fall of 3D Realms and Duke Nukem Forever's current status still hasn't been officially made clear by Scott Miller or George Broussard. Hopefully, they will come out and release an official announcement or press release to fill in the pieces for their long-standing fanbase.