The Duke Nukem franchise has been around since the early 1990s. Fans have been battling against alien invasions and saving Earth for years. But the mainline series came to a screeching halt after 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D release. Players who wanted to dive into the next installment were left waiting for years. The follow-up title to Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem Forever, was initially announced back in 1997. However, we wouldn’t actually get the game until 2011, and after all that time waiting, most found the title to fall well short of fan expectations.
We probably don’t need to rehash everything criticized regarding Duke Nukem Forever at this point. But that doesn’t mean the game franchise is coming to an end. While we haven’t had a new mainline installment release since the failed 2011 launch, it does look like a fan restoration project is hopeful Duke Nukem Forever might get a second chance. Mighty Foot Productions is a team of fans that have picked up the original source code leak build of Duke Nukem Forever.
This scrapped version is something that the production team is hopeful to finish up. Fans will soon get a chance to play through the original build of Duke Nukem Forever. We’re referring to the build prior to Gearbox Software picking up the Duke Nukem IP in 2010. So overall, the game appearance is more like what players would have received if Duke Nukem Forever managed to release in the late 1990s. You can even get a look at the Duke Nukem Forever Restoration project build in the trailer we have embedded above.
Regardless, the build is something that will hopefully appeal to fans that have waited since Duke Nukem Forever was initially announced. Likewise, it might appeal to those that felt the 2011 release of Duke Nukem Forever was a massive letdown. This build release is coming on December 21, 2022. With it comes a map editor and a deathmatch mode if you want to face others. As for the narrative, we’re still stepping into the role of Duke Nukem as he fights off a new alien parasite invasion that is quickly taking over the population of Las Vegas. For those of you wanting an official Duke Nukem release, things have been bleak as it doesn’t look like Gearbox is making any new moves for the IP at the current moment.
