Updated: Mar. 24, 2011; 10:16 a.m. PST

Take-Two has delayed Duke Nukem Forever one more time.

The perennially delayed piece of vaporware, something of a running joke in the videogame industry, is now scheduled to be released June 14 in North America for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, Take-Two said Thursday. That’s six weeks later than the May 3 release the company projected earlier this year.

In an e-mailed statement, Take-Two executives offered lots of yuks but no explanation of the reasons for the delay.

“In case you haven’t heard, Duke never comes early,” said Take-Two president Christoph Hartmann.

“I’m very sorry for the added delay,” said Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford in an e-mailed statement. “We’ve all been working extremely hard and are very eager to deliver the game to you.”

Take-Two also provided an irreverent video statement (above) in an attempt to ease fans’ concerns.

Duke Nukem Forever found itself again the subject of controversy this week, as Gearbox unveiled one of the game’s multiplayer modes. It’s “Capture the Flag,” only the flag is a woman, and if she resists being captured you have to give her a slap on the rear end.

Though at this point it might seem like we’re all participating in one big practical joke, we can assure you that Duke Nukem Forever does in fact exist. We’ve played it. One day, maybe you will too.

Chris Kohler contributed to this report.