“Eleven years in development and all I got was this lousy severed head.”

Do not adjust your monitor screens. The words you are about to read are true. The supposedly abandoned Duke Nukem Forever is back on the cards. Borderlands developer Gearbox Software has acquired the rights to the medium’s most obnoxious character and is aiming to bring the long awaited first person shooter to market in 2011.

For those unfamiliar with the long sad saga, Duke Nukem Forever is a follow-up to the 1996 cult hit Duke Nukem 3D. It was originally announced in 1997 and developer 3D Realms released various promotional materials, using a variety of engines, over a period of 11 years. The entire project became an industry joke. Many observers concluded that it would never see the light of day, particularly after 3D Realms was sued by its publisher 2K Games for failing to deliver the goods. The matter was settled out of court.

The announcement from Gearbox may be great news for Duke fans, but it’s even better news for those craving new episodes of the development community’s longest running soap opera.