After releasing an enhanced version of the original System Shock back in 2015, Night Dive Studios decided to move forward with a full-fledged remake. Since being delayed into 2018, there has been little news on the remake, but we now know that development on it has temporarily paused, and the team put on hiatus.
This was announced on Kickstarter by Night Dive Studios CEO Stephen Kick. According to Kick, development of the System Shock remake has suffered from scope creep, meaning that it has become a much larger project than originally intended. In fact, Kick said that the System Shock remake eventually became a completely different game than the original.
While it’s not explicitly stated, it’s likely that this means fans won’t get their hands on the System Shock remake in 2018 as previously announced. Depending on when work resumes on the project and how many changes need to be made, it’s possible that the game will slip to 2019, if not an even later date.
“I have put the team on a hiatus while we reassess our path so that we can return to our vision. We are taking a break, but NOT ending the project. Please accept my personal assurance that we will be back and stronger than ever. System Shock is going to be completed and all of our promises fulfilled.”
At this point, it seems as though the System Shock 3 game, which has been in development with help of Warren Spector, will release before the remake. System Shock 3 is still very early in development, but if the game manages to stay on track during its development cycle, then it should launch within the next few years.
So while some fans may be disappointed that development on the System Shock remake has been temporarily halted, at least they have multiple System Shock projects to look forward to. Hopefully this break will help the team at Night Dive Studios get the System Shock remake back on track and deliver the game in a timely manner.
System Shock is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Kickstarter
