A sad day is upon us, ladies and gentlemen, as it appears what Take-Two can giveth, they can also taketh away. Today said publishing company has taketh-ed our childhood by confirming the closing of 3D Realms and, ultimately, the demise of the languishing Duke Nukem Forever. “We can confirm that our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title,” said Take-Two VP of communications Alan Lewis.

Take-Two will retain publishing rights to the game, which could leave some ray of hope that it will finally see the light of day. There is relief for those of us needing our Duke fix while we wait another decade. Deep Silver and Apogee Software, of old school PC shareware fame, which are slated to bring the Duke Nukem Trilogy to the DS and PSP are not affected by the closure and will continue development as planned.

We at TVGB will hold a memorial service at some point in the future to honor this legend in the videogame industry, but we will not give you firm details for another 13 years.