Key information
The Duke Nukem franchise has experienced numerous surreal situations, ranging from sprite copying in early games to the controversial development of Duke Nukem Forever and the cancelled PlayStation Portable version of Duke Nukem: Critical Mass.
To secure licenses and copyright protection in the United States, games must be registered with the Library of Congress. Uniquely, a copy of the unreleased PSP version of Duke Nukem: Critical Mass was found among a stack of discs awaiting classification.
Developed by Frontline Studios, the PSP project was intended to be an edgier version of the Nintendo DS game that did successfully release, and even featured a revealed gameplay video.
The project was ultimately cancelled due to low sales of its Nintendo DS counterpart and the subsequent commercial failure of Duke Nukem Forever, leaving the PSP game restricted to a mass-production UMD disc that was never officially released.
Fortunately for game preservation and curious players, someone managed to acquire the game and upload it to the internet, granting public access to a title that otherwise might have remained hidden inside the Library of Congress.
