Broussard: We won't rush Duke Nukem Forever

3D Realms' outspoken president trashes rumors that development of the long-delayed shooter will be accelerated to reap a $500,000 payment from Take-Two.

Late last week, Take-Two Interactive filed a 10-Q earnings statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Buried inside of it, the company noted that it had renegotiated its agreement with developer 3D Realms to publish the long-in-the-making shooter Duke Nukem Forever.

According to the 10-Q, the two parties agreed to new financial terms, which were listed in the 10-Q in thousands of dollars (figures have been updated to reflect real numbers): "In March 2005, the company [Take-Two] renegotiated a $6,000[,000] contingent obligation due upon delivery of the final PC version of Duke Nukem Forever through the payment of $4,250[,000] and issuance of a promissory note in the principal amount of $500[,000]. The payment of the promissory note is contingent upon the commercial release of such product prior to December 31, 2006."

With Take-Two holding out a $500,000 promissory note as a carrot to get Duke Nukem Forever, some PC gamers became hopeful that the project would be finished in time for the 2006 holiday season. Others worried that the storied title, which has been in development since 1997, would be rushed into production before it was truly ready.

Now, it seems the former group has had their hopes dashed--while the latter group has had its fears allayed. In a post on the 3D Realms forums started in part due to a GameSpot typographical error (which has since been corrected and apologized for), Broussard has dismissed the prospect that 3D Realms would be tempted by a half-million-dollar sum.

"As for the 500k completion bonus, I don't even know were that came from," said the outspoken executive. "I do know that we never cared or asked for it, and I think it was just tossed in as part of some other agreement. We're certainly not motivated by that amount of money, after all this time, and getting the game right is what matters. I would never ship a game early (even a couple of months), for 500k."

Broussard went on to outline the current status of Duke Nukem Forever. "Our deal is simple," he said. "We're making the game. It'll be done when it's done. We've funded 99.999% of the game (aside from a very, very small advance from GT Interactive, years ago, before Take 2 bought the game from them). It's our risk, our necks and our gamble. Under the deal we should be earning royalties from about unit 30,000 or so (that's a real small number)."

252 Comments

  • plm3d_basic

    Posted Jun 13, 2008 9:06 am PT

    The game doesn't exist!

  • GabrielOnuris

    Posted Feb 5, 2008 6:30 am PT

    or it will be the better shooter ever, kicking a**es even of games like Crysis, or it will be as awesome as a rubber duck...... -.-'
    the gamers expectatives will grow up as the time goes by; 10 years now, and there are people who wanna crucify the developers; when it reaches something like 15-20 years, there will be gamers making their OWN DNF...

  • Griff152

    Posted Jan 7, 2008 3:57 am PT

    net screwed up wrong article

  • Griff152

    Posted Jan 7, 2008 3:54 am PT

    So they graced us with a teaser that some bored team members cooked up for the soul purpose to show off at a party. Honestly they should have kept this to themselves, 7 years of nothing then this, for that reason - **** off please.

    I hate seeing people getting hyped over this game and then being dissapointed in the long run becuase its another year or 2 before they say 3 words and dissapear again.

    They'll either release this game this year or early 09 or never, face it people, It's ageing every day and WILL become dated before it even sees daylight and they will have no choice but to scrap it and redo it on another engine as they have done.
    And if so please just DIE! Dont come back every half decade with NOTHING but your "when its done" attitude that has got you this far; nowhere. I wonder if it supports SLi and utilizes duel core cpus... or are they still working with single core technology lmfao ahhh.

  • Forcecaster

    Posted Dec 25, 2007 4:36 pm PT

    Duke Nukem Forever will be a really big hit, when it will be released. Well it's in development for quite long time, but it Duke is worth the wait, well it's my mind about this. But now from time to time we will get more and more. Oh sweet E3 in 2008, what great things will you bring to us? After 7 years, yeah, it will be a big show again.

  • Cookie2-0

    Posted Dec 23, 2007 4:32 pm PT

    I belive that the game is really being made by russian monkeys in a secret lair on the moon and it is taking so long because the monkeys refuse to work when they run out of cigars.

  • brickmanfalcon

    Posted Dec 20, 2007 4:21 pm PT

    I can't wait to play this while listening to Chinese Democracy.

  • Zoomer30

    Posted Dec 19, 2007 2:55 am PT

    Its be done when heck freezes over. Oh thats right....never.

  • connell66

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 2:47 pm PT

    "Hey, it'll be done when it's done!"

  • connell66

    Posted Jul 7, 2007 2:59 pm PT

    TEN YEARS!!!!!!!!!! IT'S BEEN IN DEVELOPMENT FOR TEN YEARS!!!!!!!!

    Oh well. Think of how awesome it'll be when it comes out.

  • ForlornHope

    Posted May 16, 2007 7:33 pm PT

    wow what a load of crap

  • mattxavier

    Posted Mar 14, 2007 9:20 pm PT

    Vaporware!

  • alabaster46

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 2:37 pm PT

    "The_AI
    They've certainly done well with the not rushing part...

    UTIII will own this, so this is kinda a moot point now..."

    I agree. The Rushing and Post-Haste clearly has no meaning to them

  • The_AI

    Posted Jan 30, 2007 5:12 pm PT

    They've certainly done well with the not rushing part...

    UTIII will own this, so this is kinda a moot point now...

  • Andrew0824

    Posted Jan 30, 2007 11:04 am PT

    I loved how he says "we're not going to rush anything" when the game has been in development for 9 years. Yeah, we kinda guessed about the not rushing part.

  • Omega-Protoman

    Posted Jan 29, 2007 9:25 am PT

    I wonder how much longer they can go on before Take Two threatens to dump the game. Even if they actually released the game after that, 3D Interactive has totally wrecked it's reputation as far as due dates go.

  • Robbie_IV

    Posted Dec 24, 2006 12:14 am PT

    I don't think anyone at 3-D is physically capable of rushing anything.

  • fuego96

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 7:53 pm PT

    DNFW = Duke Nukem Forever Whenever
    Oh whatever...

  • assfault88

    Posted Sep 1, 2006 9:56 am PT

    LOL, this game is so old, a "next-gen" release would mean PS2! Seriously, they don't want to rush? 10 years not long enough for you? I'm really happy I wasn't on gaming sites back then because I know I would have got my hopes up for this game and I would have killed myself from desperate anticipation years ago by now. Seriously, it does look good, and I would like for it to come out...

  • szewei85

    Posted Aug 27, 2006 1:57 am PT

    damn.i have lose hope on DNF ever since i have played a lot of better FPS along the 10 intense years.

  • KTM4288

    Posted Aug 16, 2006 11:39 am PT

    Personally, I'd be happy with the game they demo'd in their latest videos of the game. Sure, updated graphics and programming would be sweet; but for the late 90's, there were a lot on innovative mechanics in those videos. Huge explosions and fight/chase scenes that *have* more granduer than even some of today's games. By the way, did you see that kick a** chase scene where your character, on his motorcycle, slides under a semi to narrowly escape decapitation? That rules. I'll take whatever 3D Realms dishes out as long as they kept the basics of what they showed nearly 10 years ago. However, I won't get my hopes up. In fact, I never had my hopes up for this game. Looks good, but I'm not obsessive over it. Approaching 10 years kinda kills the whole "Ooh! Aah!" when waiting for a game. Especially a game without any recently released content.

  • doonbuggy17

    Posted Aug 5, 2006 3:04 pm PT

    im sure this game will be cool but I hope they are making nextgen versions or atleast an awsome pc version because well I just hope they stay with current technology. the screen shots from 1999 better morph into 2006-2007 screen shots. Ill be happy as long as the game is done right i just want some new screen shots and videos.

  • Jimminyfixit

    Posted Aug 4, 2006 4:17 pm PT

    I dont know about you guys but this Broussard is a real pain in the a**!
    "When it's ready!"
    What kind of an idiot gives that sort of add campaign, and makes us devoted Duke fans wait and then deliver that kind of a let down?
    I should rip off his head and...........well you know the rest.

    Well then mate stuff your game as there's plenty of others to play, i think you could release it along with Doom 5 and Half Life Episode 12 if global warming hasn't flooded my front room by then!

  • taker_1192

    Posted Aug 3, 2006 7:21 pm PT

    I hope this game FINALLY gets released this year. Damn I've... no sorry - "we've" been waiting for this game for a very long time and I really hope it turns out well.

    Hmm... maybe they're planning to release it 10 years after they first announced it. LOL ; )

  • chien_11

    Posted Jul 21, 2006 11:53 pm PT

    Ive been waiting years for this to come out.......duke 3d was the best shootem up ever made.

  • DeNiRo_69

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 3:15 pm PT

    All I can say after playing there most resent release "prey" I have very high expectations for DNF

    as it will take alot more creative ideas to make DNF work and the fact it's production time is longer then prays leads me to believe DNF will be a significant milestone in FPS.....

    Advanced Doom 3 Engine for DNF?? :0
    HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!!!!

  • timmy0001

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 6:47 am PT

    Oh...and come on guys do something unheard of in the main stream gaming community. Release an AO rated version in addition to the regular release that I'm sure will be M.

  • timmy0001

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 6:17 am PT

    Why does everyone here have a problem with how long this game has taken to develop? You've had plenty of other games to satisfy your gaming desires/needs. Ten years is a long time for programmers to put their heart and soul into a single project. A lot is relying on the success of this release. Don't you think they know how long it has taken? They go in everyday and work on this game for at least 8 hours..trust me they know. I'm sure they dream about this game at night. They are as eager as any of you for this game to be completed. But it is also their baby. So excuse them for wanting to make it absolutely perfect. Maybe they just hold their work to a higher expectation than you do..

  • steven861

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 10:04 pm PT

    This better be an amazing freaken game....never heard of a game taking this long to make.

  • MVBroli_2

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 4:51 pm PT

    lol, i find this funny.

  • crawleyz

    Posted Jul 1, 2006 6:38 pm PT

    George doesn't want to rush DNF? Umm, the game is nearly 10 years late........we get that.

  • bouff

    Posted Jun 26, 2006 2:08 pm PT

    i think its a good thing that they are not rushing DNF coz the last thing anyone wants is an exelent game gone bad

  • assklown69

    Posted Jun 25, 2006 9:15 am PT

    if it actually comes out they need to make it for the 360

  • fuego96

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 10:49 pm PT

    ...well at least "they" managed to release PREY before we loose our aging eyesight.

  • fuego96

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 10:47 pm PT

    As I think about DNF again, you know what? We could become grandfathers/grandmothers by the time DNF finally hits the shelves. And then our "next generation" wouldn't even know what's so special about it and continue playing other similar games. Meanwhile we'll either be rocking in our chairs or join bowling leagues...

  • boh123

    Posted Jun 20, 2006 12:01 am PT

    We won't rush Duke Nukem Forever. i liked too but a apart of that i lost interest

  • Messiah1979

    Posted Jun 19, 2006 3:59 pm PT

    Pfft... The couldn't rush it if they tried...

  • phoenixan_akrau

    Posted Jun 19, 2006 11:31 am PT

    Well, if they're funding it themselves in addition, then it has to take a while. O_o; I guess.

  • BIGART312

    Posted Jun 19, 2006 7:00 am PT

    I totaly agree with him. Why rush it? It's been only 10 years since they started.

  • BizSAR

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 11:59 pm PT

    This whole thing really is a joke. You can't tell me that developers have been working on this for 9 years. I think someone is going to get sued over this eventually...or at least somebody SHOULD. They've lost the player base on this game years ago.

    I'll still buy it the second it's up for pre-release or when it hits the shelves. Anyone that played Duke 3D is going ot buy it out of curiosity. Don't let anyone else tell you different...and the dev.s know it. :p

  • AlienwareFree

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 11:47 pm PT

    Well, if Duke Nukem Forever does come out, he should be bald after 10 years.

  • spiffe

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 3:02 pm PT

    I think its awesome that they dont abandon the project. And hopefully we'll see a release soon. And I'm going to buy it no matter when it comes or how the game is.

    its duke, man! You guys are too young to understand

  • neojam

    Posted Jun 18, 2006 5:16 am PT

    who cares?
    After all this waiting and bull we have been through, George Broussard can stick his piece of vaporware in his lying ***.

    And even if they manage to finaly bring the game out, iam not bying it.

  • Raven_Lord

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 4:47 pm PT

    I smell vaporware....

  • EcksBocks360

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 7:21 am PT

    they should include an extra disc that features Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem 2, and Duke Nukem 3D as added bonuses. (maybe they'll throw in *cough*atomicedition*cough*)

  • dark_orb

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 5:41 am PT

    This game has become a joke. It will never see the light of day and most (if not all) of us know this by now. There is nothing they can do now to make this game relavent by todays standards. Crysis will look better then anything, Half Life plays better then anything, FEAR has the AI dpt. covered, Doom 3 has the absorbing envroments. Anybody that tells you that this game (should it ever come out) will be better then any one (let alone all) of these is either full of ****, or joking.

  • lukavider

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 1:46 am PT

    IMO, duke isn't even worth getting mentioned at gamespot...as a joke sure, but as a game...not any more

  • crazykarateguy

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 10:49 pm PT

    they started development when i was in like the 6th grade...i'm now a junior in college. no one cares anymore, i hope their company goes bankrupt. When's Halo 3 and the next half life episode come out?

  • shaggydoo29

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 5:17 pm PT

    You know, at one time way back when, I was actually kinda excited about this game. That was way back in '97, when it was going to use the revolutionary "Quake 1" engine. Here it is, 9 years later, and I really don't give a crap. If it were to be released tomorrow, I still wouldn't care. Maybe when it hits the bargin bins ($10 bucks of less), then I might care just a smidgin'. As far as I am concerned, Broussard can take this game and stick it where the sun don't shine!

  • zh1zha

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 2:17 pm PT

    đuka nuklearac ;?

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