The Duke Nukem franchise began in 1991 when Apogee Software, Ltd. released the original Duke Nukem, a 2D side scrolling platformer for MS-DOS. Apogee Software, now known as 3D Realms Entertainment, quickly became one of the best known developers for the computer industry in 1996, with the release of Duke Nukem 3D.
One retrospective of the company's history stated that this game almost overnight made 3D Realms a fortune. Since these early games, the Duke Nukem franchise has been one of the most well-known and beloved franchises in video game history.
