Gearbox Software has confirmed that after a grand total of fourteen years of development time, Duke Nukem: Forever has finally gone gold. Though the game having been delayed numerous times since it missed the original release window of mid-1998, “The Duke” will finally hit store shelves in North America on June 14th.
Announcing that the game is now ready for retail release, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford added that he remains convinced of the quality of the game, despite the long development process:
Always bet on Duke, I did. I bet on all of the developers who have ever been a part of this legendary project and I bet that none of us want to live in a world without the Duke. I’ve played the final game and it is an incredible experience – a once-in-a-lifetime opus of interactive entertainment that reminds me once again why Duke Nukem is our King.
The developers of Duke Nukem Forever at 3D Realms, Triptych, Piranha and finally at Gearbox deserve our thanks and respect for never giving up and have truly shown us that they have balls of steel!
Gearbox Software took up development on the title in 2010, and previously announced that the game would be released in May 2011. Duke Nukem: Forever suffered its final delay in March, when the release was postponed by one month.
