Randy Pitchford Promises More Duke Nukem In The Future

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Even though Duke Nukem Forever was essentially decimated by critics, Gearbox and Take-Two are moving full steam ahead, and Gearbox president Randy Pitchford is their main cheerleader. Echoing the statement Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick made back in June, Pitchford says that Gearbox definitely isn’t done with the Duke Nukem franchise.

Speaking in an interview with Kotaku at PAX Prime over the weekend, Pitchford remained steadfast in the idea that Duke Nukem Forever wasn’t just a one-off kind of thing for Gearbox and the Duke franchise:

I know that you guys figured out that, when Gearbox acquired the franchise, we didn’t do it just to make sure we could all play Duke Forever, but because we wanted to make our own Duke game. Soon, we’ll talk about that, but not today.

Pitchford also said that he’s well aware of the polarizing effect that Duke Nukem Forever had on critics and gamers alike, but he seemed ready to put it behind him and move on with a Duke game that Gearbox can actually call their own. I’ve said before that I’m more than willing to give Gearbox another shot at the Duke franchise – after all, Gearbox is a truly great developer, and they can hardly be blamed for Duke Nukem Forever‘s myriad of problems when it was in development at 3D Realms for well over a decade.

Only time will tell how good of a game Gearbox can put out now that they’ll have full control over the content in the next Duke Nukem game, but for now, I’ll approach any news of an awesome Duke Nukem game with a sense of (very) cautious optimism.