Duke Nukem 3D Unreal Engine 3 remake "on hold" due to Gearbox conflict

Many, many moons ago - back when Duke Nukem Forever's eventual release was still a valid punchline to any lighthearted joke involving the assuredly painful end to all humanity - a developer called Interceptor Entertainment wowed the gaming world with a perfect Unreal Engine 3 reproduction of Duke 3D's first area.

of Duke 3D's first area. That, Interceptor claimed, was just the beginning. Now, though, I'm really hoping that this isn't the end.

"After careful consideration of the progress and direction of the project, Interceptor Entertainment has decided to finish Duke Nukem: Reloaded at a future date that is yet to be determined," the developer wrote on its website.

Interceptor, of course, was given the greenlightto go full steam ahead on the modern makeover by Gearbox, so the Duke Nukem rights owner was well aware of the update's ongoing development. Apparently, though, the two Duke devs are no longer seeing eye-to-eye.

"We are around 90% finished with the current Multiplayer version - but you have to remember that we don't own the game. It's done under a signed license with Gearbox Software, which ultimately means that we cannot do whatever we want with the project," Reloaded's project lead clarified in a forum post.

"There are some conditions which we can't live with [in] our license and agreement. And because of this, we have decided to put the project on hold. This might change in the future - it all depends on what Gearbox decides to do after the DNF DLC has been released."

He added, however, that the team definitely hasn't given up. Even so, I'm a tad wary. Duke, er, doesn't have the best track record with dates that are "yet to be determined," after all.