So How Much Work Went Into Duke Nukem Forever?

Duke Nukem Forever, the game that was in development for forever, was first revealed in 1997. This year it’s finally being released by another studio, Gearbox Software, which began working on the game in 2009.

“I have estimated that 3D Realms invested between 3500 and 4500 man-months of effort into the game, a lot of which has been lost to the ages,” Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford recently blogged. “Meanwhile, by the time Gearbox ships the game we’ll have put in another 2500 man-months of effort.”

Does that mean the game’s original developer was just lollygagging about? Not necessarily. Pitchford might be factoring the size of his team and amount of actual work, meaning then his figures could certainly add up. A larger team would mean that more man-months could be covered more quickly.

For comparison’s sake, Pitchford said that his studio’s sci-fi shooter Borderlands required between 3500 and 4000 man-months of effort. Man-months, everybody, man-months!

Duke Nukem Forever: PS3 Details and Duke’s PlayStation Roots – PlayStation Blog [PlayStation Blog via ShackNews]