There may be light at the end of the tunnel for Duke. A rumor has emerged suggesting that Gearbox Software of Borderlands fame is working to finish what the now-defunct 3DRealms started. This comes by way of a Kotaku report, which cites “sources who wished to remain anonymous.”

If true, it’d mark Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games’ second publishing coup with Gearbox since Borderlands. A secondary source claims a playable demo is due out by this year’s end. Take it with a grain of a salt, but this is certainly within the realm of possibility. There’s a couple reasons why.

Take-Two still holds publishing rights to the brand, meaning it makes little sense from a business standpoint to let it sit there. 3DRealms claims development on Duke Nukem Forever was nearing completion around the time it was forced to lay off its entire workforce amidst a legal battle with Take-Two.

Above all, Gearbox is a good fit for Duke. They’ve worked on numerous FPS-centric titles in the past, including Half-Life expansions Opposing Force and Blue Shift. The experience is there.

It’ll be interesting to see if anything materializes. We’d love to see a Duke revival as long as it’s in capable hands. DNF’s delay-ridden saga needs a proper ending.

Rumor: Borderlands Studio Reviving Duke Nukem Forever [Kotaku]

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