Gearbox Wants To Collaborate On Next Duke Nukem Game

[Fanghawk]

Gearbox Wants To Collaborate On Next Duke Nukem Game

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford wants to follow up Duke Nukem Forever, but would only do so alongside another developer.

In the brief history of video games, few sequels dropped the ball as spectacularly as <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/duke%20nukem%20forever?os=duke+nukem+forever>Duke Nukem Forever. This game went through 15 years of development, multiple restarts, and a Gearbox acquisition, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3581-Duke-Nukem-Forever-for-real-this-time>only to be savaged by critics for a host of problems. It's no surprise that we haven't seen a true Duke Nukem game since, but Gearbox's <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118500-Gearbox-CEO-Duke-Nukem-Forever-Is-Exactly-Like-Half-Life-2>Randy Pitchford says he'd like that to change. There's just one caveat - Gearbox would need to produce it in collaboration with another developer.

"I did not acquire the franchise merely so people could experience Duke Nukem Forever," Pitchford explained at the Develop 2015 conference today. "That was, sort of, the toll to pay to give Duke Nukem a chance at a future. So yes. In fact, we've done some concept development. The challenge is that Gearbox is very busy. A faster way would be if the correct developer would become interested and we'd work with them."

Gearbox technically never developed the original Duke Nukem Forever, it just polished and tested 3D Realms' efforts up to that point. Right now the company is focusing <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/141040-Gearboxs-Battleborn-Looks-Like-MOBAs-Got-The-Borderlands-Treatment>on projects like Battleborn instead of the Duke Nukem license. The only problem is Gearbox's last collaboration - which <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123699-Colonial-Marines-Co-Developer-Files-For-Bankruptcy-Protection>ended with the partner developer going bankrupt - might cause other teams to hesitate before supporting a risky project.

That said, Duke Nukem 3D's gameplay has held up remarkably well over the years. It's entirely possible that a talented developer could put a fresh spin on Duke that makes his sequels bearable once more. Is there a particular developer you'd want to make a Duke Nukem sequel, or do you think his time has truly passed us by?

Source: <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-15-gearbox-wants-developer-to-collaborate-on-new-duke-nukem-game?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter>Eurogamer

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[Colt47]

Personally, I think the duke nukem franchise is fine for continuation. The issue is the kind of game they are making and how well they make it. That and the humor tends to lend itself more towards a smaller audience than most titles.

 

[Karadalis]

Ofcourse they would... so incase anything goes wrong they can blame the other company and weasal themselves out of any responsibility again.

Gearbox... anyone wanting to work together with you would be suicidal.

And dont think any big name will give you any money anymore after the blunder that was Aliens CM and how you treated that whole affair.

 

[SteewpidZombie]

I think Duke Nukem is one series that just needs to be left to die and be buried deep down. Because everything that made Duke Nukem fun has since been done better and often, and everything that made him funny is just outdated and is just kinda...lame...

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Why? So they could shirk responsibility and play the victim if nobody likes it but everyone pre-ordered it?

No thanks buster.

 

[Bat Vader]

Since Gearbox owns the franchise instead of making a Duke Nukem game why not instead just add him as a playable character if they do another Borderlands game? I feel that is a win on both fronts.

 

[American Tanker]

Since Gearbox owns the franchise instead of making a Duke Nukem game why not instead just add him as a playable character if they do another Borderlands game? I feel that is a win on both fronts.

Yes! Put Duke in Battleborn as a special unique character, too.

Gearbox can keep Duke alive by just relegating him to "Guest Character" status in their other projects for a while. When the memory of Forever fades, they can bring him back in his own game.

Either that, or they could just sell the IP off to the highest bidder. I'd honestly rather that be done. Maybe give him over to someone that actually cares about the old Duke Nukem games.

 

[Dead Metal]

Translation:
We need another company we can push all the blame on once the idiots that buy the game realize that it's shit.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Give it to Platinum! Apologies, instinct kicked in there.

Anyway, after the various statements he's made the past few days, I think I'll pass on anything Pitchford is involved in.

 

[VoidWanderer]

Translation:
We need another company we can push all the blame on once the idiots that buy the game realize that it's shit.

Seems to be their strategy lately... But honestly, do we WANT another Duke Nukem game?

 

[Rad Party God]

Gee, I fucking wonder what would happen if someone actually gave a shit about Duke.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

So they're looking for a scapegoat. They're hedging their plausible deniability bet for when-not if-the game completely tanks.

 

[09philj]

Sell the IP for £3.50 and a sausage to People Can Fly, or in a worst case scenario, Ubisoft Montreal.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I'm sorry, I might have hit my head.

One of the still most maligned heads of a distrusted company came out and suggested making a sequel for a series that had its last game come out dead in the water, almost eliminating any relevance the series still had... by suggesting a system that not only ruined one of the biggest AAA games of all times (Batman Arkham Knight for PC), but ruined Gearbox's own Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Did I sum that up right? Is that what I just read?

 

[Gatlank]

Translation:
We need another company we can push all the blame on once the idiots that buy the game realize that it's shit.

Seems to be their strategy lately... But honestly, do we WANT another Duke Nukem game?

If it's done right i would buy it. Of course i dont see Gearbox being able to do that.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

After the Colonial Marines fiasco people are really starting to wonder about Gearbox and Pitchford. If they'll only do it as a collaboration then I seriously wonder about their confidence in the IP.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

How 'bought NO. The Jimquisition (warning: Jim once again waves a NSFW object around. A lot.) [https://youtu.be/eG1q3X3HxeA] reminded me that Pitchford still denies any foul play from Gearbox on both DNF and Aliens Colonial Marines. Farming Duke out to another dev just raises the chances of the game being another buggy mess.

If they want to make another game in the franchise, Gearbox should have an internal team work on it (and also GB should not lie about the game's visuals and enemy AI). If they don't have enough people to do that and aren't willing to hire enough, the franchise either needs to sit for a while, or should be sold.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I can't believe Pitchford had the balls to publicly say that. Who the fuck would want to work with Gearbox?

 

[LazyAza]

Aka we need someone else to shift the blame to when it inevitably looks, sounds and plays nothing like its promo material because of a rushed lazy development cycle that results in it being a broken, tedious, glitchy mess.