10 Biggest Risks In Video Games (That Didn't Pay Off)

7. Duke Nukem Forever Finally Comes Out, But They Shouldn't Have Bothered

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3D Realms

After floundering in the depths of development hell seemingly - well - forever, Duke Nukem Forever finally saw the light of day in 2011.

The game was first announced in 1997. Since that time, it didn't resurface until 2007 when a short video was shown, then development once again was apparently tumultuous as it disappeared for the best part of another four years.

That means we waited over a decade for this game.

Was it worth the wait? Hell no!

Duke Nukem Forever is an embarrassment. It plays terribly, the protagonist Duke is a sexist pig whose jokes are just not funny and the game is highly offensive throughout. The worst thing about the entire game is probably the achievement 'Turd Burglar', which literally lets Duke pick up a piece of crap and use it to draw on things. Seriously.

The whole long, protracted game development clearly had an effect on the finished title. Not only was Duke's attitude and humour way out of date, but the actual mechanics of the game were extremely archaic too.

Duke Nukem Forever once held the Guiness World Record for longest development period for a game of 14 years and 44 days!

They really shouldn't have bothered.

Contributor
Contributor

Dan Curtis is approximately one-half videogame knowledge, and the other half inexplicable Geordie accent. He's also one quarter of the Factory Sealed Retro Gaming podcast.