Fan-Made ‘Duke Nukem Next-Gen’ Gets Gearbox’s Blessing

Frederik Schreiber, an amateur modeller itching to update Duke Nukem 3D into the present, has gotten permission from the studio now in charge of the franchise to create “Duke Nukem Next-Gen” for the PC.

That video above gives you the best idea of what Schreiber’s going for in “Duke Nukem Next-Gen”, which he says is a codename for the project and not its finished title. Above, that’s Hollywood Holocaust in a no-weapons test mode.

When finished, the game will include a three-episode singleplayer campaign and “a full-fledged multiplayer component”. It “will be released free to everyone – NO other games required,” Schreiber notes.

The free aspect is because he now has a personal non-commercial licence from Gearbox Software to go forward with his project, which went viral after he posted a test map and screenshots on the studio’s official forum late last month.

Realising this would be sunk if the rights holders to the game didn’t bless it, Schreiber managed to get his idea in front of Gearbox’s corporate counsel. “Luckily Gearbox was interested in supporting the project,” Schreiber writes, “which resulted in a personal non-commercial licence to Duke Nukem.”

When does the game release? Well, just like its notorious namesake, “when it’s done”. That said, “We won’t hold back the experience, until the final game gets released,” Schreiber writes. Everyone will be able to play the game’s “first official Milestone Test”, which will be a multiplayer test on a few maps, with the weapons, items and objects included on those maps.

The nine-man team has an internal date set for the game’s multiplayer demo “and it’s sooner than you think”.

Duke Nukem: Next-Gen – OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED! – Info, Team etc. [Gearbox Forums]