The game that has been in development for over 13 years may finally be released after all. Via a fan's blog site, publisher 2K Games is displaying at its PAX Prime 2010 booth signs and banners confirming that the development team at Gearbox Software will take over the making of Duke Nukem Forever, the first person shooter that began life at Duke Nukem's owner 3D Realms. We are still waiting for the promised video stream presentation from PAX Prime to go live.

The game began its life in 1997 as a sequel to 3D Realms' hit 1996 shooter Duke Nukem 3D. However the dev team dissapointed gamers year after year with delays, engine changes and then almost total silence on the game's development. In May 2009, 3D Realms laid off its internal development team and engaged in a legal battle with Duke Nukem Forever's publisher Take Two Interactive. Those legal actions were settled quietly a few months ago. We will post updates when we learn more official news on Duke Nukem Forever's re-announcement.

Update: The Wall Street Journal has posted up a story that also confirms Gearbox's involvement in Duke Nukem Forever's revival with Gearbox head man Randy Pitchford saying the team started working on the game in late 2009. The article seems confused about the game's release date; one paragraph says it will ship "next year" while another says it will be released in 2010.

Update 2: Pitchford has now confirmed via 2K Games' streaming video coverage that the game is in fact due out in 2011. Attendees at PAX Prime are getting a chance to play a portion of the game's single player content.

[Via Shacknews]