The games undersold sales expectations but have become cult classics, and have inspired numerous games such as BioShock, Deus Ex, and Prey.
The series remained dormant until Nightdive Studios,[2] a game developer dedicated to re-releasing classic video games, acquired the rights to re-release both games in 2012.[3]
System Shock was developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Origin Systems for the MS-DOS, Mac OS, and PC-98. In it, the player controls a hacker who is caught attempting to steal files from the TriOptimum Corporation and is taken to Citadel Station, and cooperates with Edward Diego, an executive from the aforementioned company, to remove the station's AI, SHODAN's ethical constraints in exchange for a military-grade neural implant. For which the hacker is placed into a six month coma. The game starts as the hacker awakens from his slumber to discover that SHODAN has commandeered the ship.
System Shock 2 was co-developed by Looking Glass Studios and the newly founded Irrational Games for Windows, and later OS X and Linux. The game takes place in the starship of the Von Braun, where a hivemind known as the Many begins infecting the crew.
The game was critically acclaimed for its atmosphere, gameplay, and story. However, the game under-performed, and the series went on a hiatus.[4][5]
System Shock: Enhanced Edition (2015)
Nightdive Studios acquired the rights to the series in 2012, and three years later, released an updated version of System Shock titled System Shock: Enhanced Edition. It includes features such as an updated mouselook and resolution. The engine was later updated to the KEX engine.[6]
Shortly after the release of System Shock: Enhanced Edition, Nightdive opened a Kickstarter campaign to fund a remake of the first game. The campaign's funding goal was $900,000; in the month-long campaign, they raised over $1.35 million, surpassing the original goal by over $450,000. The remake faced numerous development issues, and has switched engine from Unity to Unreal Engine 4.[7][8] It released for Windows in May 2023, and will later release on consoles.
System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition (TBA)
A port and remaster of System Shock 2 on the KEX engine is planned as a pre-order bonus alongside the System Shock remake. Multiple models from the remaster have been shown on Nightdive's Twitter account.[9]
System Shock 3 (TBA)
System Shock 3 was announced in 2015. Multiple attempts of a sequel to System Shock 2 have failed.[10] However, OtherSide Entertainment has received the rights to create a new game. The game takes place in a TriOptimum Blacksite during 2089.
The game's status is unknown, as Warren Spector, the founder of OtherSide has stated that they haven't worked on the game since 2019, and since they approached Tencent for financing, it is up to them about what happens to System Shock 3.[11]
Television adaptation
A live-action science fiction horror drama series was announced in 2021. The show will be available for Binge, a streaming service centered on video game-based projects. Allan Ungar, with Nightdive's Larry Kuperman and Stephen Kick producing. By 2022 Greg Russo was attached to direct the series in his directorial debut.[12]
