Ex-3D Realms head George Broussard lost "20 to 30 million dollars" of his own money on Duke Nukem Forever, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has estimated.
Speaking to press in London this morning, Pitchford recalled the sad events leading up to Gearbox's acquisition of the elusive FPS - and the heavy personal hit Broussard that took.
"There was the bad news in May 2009," Pitchford recalled. "You all saw the stories; 3D Realms was shutting down, Duke was dead. That sucked. It was tough being in Dallas, many of my friends lost their jobs.
"I spoke to George Broussard and he said, 'Randy, this is the worst day of my life' but you could hear in his voice there was more. This was 12 years of his life... try and imagine what you've achieved in 12 years, Gearbox has made 15 games in that time."
He continued: "George Broussard is not a poor man but I would estimate that he lost 20 to 30 million dollars of his own money on Duke Nukem Forever - I don't care who you are, that's a hell of a lot of money. He was committed to Duke to the point of insanity... and now Duke was dead.
"He decided he would rather have it burn that have a bad version of the game come out."
Broussard is confirmed to be involved with the Gearbox version - though in what capacity is unclear. Those who pick up the GOTY edition of Borderlands will be able to try out the new DNF before its release.
Pitchford said last month that core development on the shooter is complete, and that the title's being "polished" for launch in 2011.
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