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Duke Nukem Forever – $20 to $30 million
Where do we even begin with 3D Realm’s Duke Nukem Forever? In development for 15 years, the first person shooter hopped more engines than Vin Diesel in the latest Fast and Furious film. George Broussard reportedly used $20 to $30 million of his own cash to fund the title, which never saw release under the studio’s banner. Publisher Take Two eventually acquired the IP and released Duke Nukem Forever, only to report poorer than expected sales with 376,000 units sold in the first month. Though the title eventually became “profitable” for the publisher, considering how much put in for development – which was pretty much finished when it acquired the IP – it couldn’t have been a lot.
