14 DAY TRIAL // The gaming industry hasn't escaped the worldwide recession and a lot of big corporations have been forced to make drastic staff reductions and other cost-cutting measures in order to ensure that a marginal profit or even smaller losses are recorded this year.
But, even though big companies like Sony or EA can handle these problems, smaller, independent studios don't have anything to rely on. Such is the case now with 3D Realms, the company behind the ever-delayed Duke Nukem Forever, which has been rumored by reliable sources to soon close its doors.
The news appeared yesterday, when inside sources confirmed it for both Kotaku and Shacknews. A semi-official confirmation about the termination of the company has been made by the webmaster of the studio, Joe Siegler, who posted on the official forums that, “It's not a marketing thing. It's true. I have nothing further to say at this time.”
This will certainly make a lot of Duke Nukem fans extremely angry, as 3D Realms announced the game back in 1997 and, up until a few months ago, when screenshots and artwork surfaced, didn't really reveal any big details.
Contacted by Kotaku for a statement, the publisher of the future game, Take Two, revealed that, “It is the Company's policy to not comment on its contractual relationships, nor do we comment on rumors and speculation. That said, we can confirm that our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title. In addition, Take-Two continues to retain the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever.”
From this statement, we can see that, even though 3D Realms will be shut down, Take Two can take the project from them and assign a new studio to continue the work and eventually get the title finished and into the hands of fans across the world.
Stay tuned to Softpedia, as we will keep you updated on the fate of this game and the company that is/was responsible for it.