Borderlands creator Gearbox Software wants to create another installment in the Duke Nukem franchise, according to studio boss Randy Pitchford.
Reporting from today’s Develop 2015, Eurogamer brings word that the company is keen to collaborate with another developer regarding the future of the dormant IP. Having acquired the property from 3D Realms in 2010, Pitchford stated that he didn’t “acquire the franchise merely so people could experience Duke Nukem Forever.” Stuck in development hell for upwards of a decade at the former studio, Duke Nukem Forever is infamous for its prolonged stint in production, which perhaps explains part of the reason Gearbox is looking to outside company for help.
In fact, Pitchford confirmed that the creative team at Gearbox has drafted up some ideas for future iterations of cigar-chomping, demon-slaying badass, and that his future on the small screen largely hinges on this potential collobaration.
“I did not acquire the franchise merely so people could experience Duke Nukem Forever. 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.
“I think that’s it’s a challenging problem,” he added, “but there’s no doubt that, when it does happen, the entire industry will turn its head. Getting attention in this industry is one of the hardest things to do.”
Duke Nukem Forever may go down as an unsightly, largely forgettable smear on the IP itself, but Duke Nukem still has a lot of cache with the gaming community given its sprawling history in the genre. With that said, would you be keen on a possible revival? Let us know below.