Picture this: it's 2001. Duke Nukem is at the height of his power. Duke Nukem 3D is being ported everywhere, Duke Nukem: Zero Hour and Time to Kill have finally brought the Duke to consoles, and although Duke Nuken Forever isn't out (and won't be for another decade), fans are eagerly awaiting the return of the Duke. It seemed like nothing could stop him.
Then a series of unfortunate events would eventually see the Duke property change hands and a bunch of games would get canceled. One of those games was Duke Nukem: Endangered Species, a 2001 first-person shooter big-game hunting title from Carnivores creators Action Forms Ltd. And now you can play this Duke Nukem spinoff yourself to experience what might have been.
Courtesy of the Gaming Leaks & Rumors subreddit comes a prototype version of Duke Nukem: Endangered Species. Action Forms wasn't able to actually finish the game before it was canceled, so don't expect anything remotely close to a completed product. You might also have some trouble getting these 2001-era files working on your modern hardware.
But you do get a sense of what Endangered Species could have been. The game was largely based on the Carnivores series, with Duke traveling the world to hunt down wild animals that have been genetically modified for some nefarious end. The goal was to have 20 animals by the end of development, including gorillas, grizzly bears, lions, alligators, sharks, and tigers, as well as interesting boss enemies like a werewolf, werebull, a T-rex, a giant scorpion, and an alien of some kind. Locations would range from the African savannah, tropical islands, Egyptian desserts, Arctic tundra, and more.
Not all these beasts and levels are finished in the leaked game, and there's a no-clip camera mode that was clearly intended as a development tool that was never removed, but for Duke-starved fans, it's more Duke. About as janky and unfinished as Duke fans have come to expect.
If you want to see what Duke Nukem: Endangered Species eventually turned into, check out Vivisector: Beast Within. It’s a 2005 horror shooter where you take on animal-human hybrids to prevent a mad scientist from taking over the world.