The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Duke Nukem Forever, a game that has been developed for the past thirteen years, is finally rumored to be nearing completion and will be released next year. The intended sequel has taken so long that they might as well brand it as a reboot at this point since those have been so damn popular lately.

In case you need a little refresher, Duke Nukem is a side scrolling computer game published by Apogee Software in 1991. A sequel came out in 1993, and then in 1996 3D Realms debuted Duke Nukem 3D, which followed the humorous macho antihero as he defended Earth from an alien invasion. It was a highly successful first person shooter game that featured a sophisticated level design and a multitude of weapons. Fans also loved the game's humor and the main character's wisecracks.

Because the game was so well received, it was a no brainer to develop another sequel. Duke Nukem Forever was announced in 1997, and constantly-changing promotional information has been released in spurts for the past 13 years. Eventually, Take-Two Interactive, who own the publishing rights to the game, sued 3D Realms for their dillydallying, and in 2009, the studio dissolved the game's development team. It seemed as if Duke Nukem Forever was going back to the drawing board, but today Take-Two has announced that Gearbox Software has taken over development of the game, and they insist that the finished product will be released in 2011.

Even if Duke Nukem Forever does finally get released next year, it's been an Internet punchline for so long that I don't expect it to live up to the decade-plus hype unless it comes with some sort of Minority Report-esque technology. This game could very well end up being a disappointment of Chinese Democracy proportions rather than an Avatar-like hit. Still, I imagine a lot of gamers and Duke Nukem fans will purchase the game just so they can finally see the finished product.

Do you think Duke Nukem Forever's release date is finally legit, or are you still skeptical it's actually done?

Do you think Duke Nukem Forever will finally be released?