3D Realmshas announcedthat the follow-up to 2019’sIon Fury,Phantom Fury, will be released on July 11, 2025.
Phantom Furycontinues the violent adventures of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, who first appeared in 2016’sBombshellas a stand-in forDuke Nukemafter Gearbox asserted their ownership of him. While her first outing was not very well-received,Ion Furytook a different direction by utilizing the Build Engine – the same game engine responsible forWilliam Shatner’s Tekwar(and alsoDuke Nukem 3D). I personally had myissues withIon Fury, but a lot of other people really connected with it.
Phantom Furyleaves the Build Engine behind but doesn’t completely abandon the retro-inspired graphics. While it’s moving to a full-3D engine, it looks like something more circa Y2K. It hasn’t been explicitly said by the developers (that I know of), but it seems to be presenting itself as an alternate realityDuke Nukem Forever, following an alternate realityDuke Nukem 3D. It’s as if that game actually released when it was supposed to instead of over a decade later. Hopefully, it will actually be good.
I played the demo ofPhantom Furya while back when it first became available. While it didn’t entirely sell me on the game, it was a competent enough slice that was full of appreciable small details. It’s important to note that whileIon Furywas developed by Voidpoint,Phantom Furyis being done by Slipgate Ironworks.
3D Realms recently saw layoffs as part of the restructuring of Embracer Group. It has been reported that they are now leaving Embracer as part of the$500 millionsale of their parent company, Saber. The whole situation must be hell to try and work through, but it’s nice to see that the team was able to getPhantom Furyto the finish line.
