Although it was canceled back in 2001, Duke Nukem Forever has had new gameplay clips leak on the Internet that showed a Las Vegas level for players to explore and navigate through.
The 2001 version of Duke Nukem Forever is something a lot of PC fans have been wanting to play since it was announced but seen very little overall. Footage has surfaced on the image-sharing platform imgur that shows gameplay from the canceled game in a Las Vegas themed level. According to the VP from 3DRealms, Frederik Schreiber, the game was 90% done when it was canceled in 2001.
The footage features short clips of Duke Nukem platforming and a few death animations from falling off of a ledge. Players are able to speculate what these levels may hold based on this footage and hope that in the future find out if they are correct.
Duke Nukem Forever was originally supposed to release in 2001 but was canceled after a troubled development. According to reports, the game was supposed to have RPG elements and offer between 14-16 hours of gameplay. The story revolves around obnoxious anti-hero Duke Nukem navigating around, meeting and saving NPCs, and defeating the infected EDF who is causing all of the problems that the players have to resolve.
Click the images below to check out the clips:
Gearbox was reportedly working on getting the licenses for Duke Nukem to complete the development of the 2001 package and place it in a new package for players to experience. Unfortunately, the last anyone heard of this was in 2018 so the process may be going slower than anticipated.
It will be interesting for players to see what Gearbox and Randy Pitchford have in store for them if they fully acquire the licenses and can put out a finished product with the Duke Nukem title attached to it. Players will learn if the Las Vegas casino levels make it into the game or get retextured and find Duke Nukem in a new area that happens to have the same elements as the original level design.
Duke Nukem Forever was canceled before it could finish development.
Source: DSO Gaming