A new Duke Nukem game may be announced soon [Updated]

I don't know if Duke Nukem Forever is really as bad as the legend that's sprung up around it makes out, but it sure wasn't good. Which is probably why, aside from a little spat with 3D Realms and Interceptor over what eventually became Bombshell (with a heavy emphasis on the “bomb,” as it turns out), Gearbox has been content to let the franchise lie quietly for the past half-decade. But that may be about to change. 

Point yourself at dukenukem.com, lie to the age gate, and you'll be confronted with a “Happy 20th Anniversary” banner—Duke Nukem 3D was released in 1996—a “Coming Soon” warning, and a countdown that's currently got eight days and change left on the clock. That puts zero hour at 8:30 pm ET on September 2, a date that means... [Update: I originally pegged it at September 1 but it's been pointed out to me that I got it wrong, and September 2 is in fact a date of significance. Gearbox is holding a panel at PAX West that day, which surely can't be a coincidence. The panel is scheduled to run from 4-5 pm PT, while the timer will run out at 5:30 pm PT, so presumably we'll find out what's happening a little bit before it goes live.]

Also of note: The Duke Nukem Facebook page has suddenly come back to life with its first new post since 2012, and a Duke Nukem Twitter account has appeared. Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford is currently bantering with it. 

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There's no guarantee that all of this will end in the announcement of a new game: We could be looking at Duke Nukem Forever DLC, or DNF Gold, or a Duke Anthology of some sort. But that's awfully unlikely. This a lot of effort, relatively speaking, for anything less than a new game reveal, especially since that's so obviously what people are going to expect. I've reached out to Gearbox to ask about what's going on, and while I don't imagine I'll hear back—why would they blow their own countdown?—I'll let you know if I do.

(Final thing: I couldn't get the site to load properly in Firefox, only in Chrome, so if you run into a “you cannot view this website” message after entering your birthdate, switch browsers.)

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.