System Shock Remake

System Shock Remake development halted, team ‘took the wrong path and turned its backs to its backers’


Nightdive Studios has announced that the development of its System Shock Remake has been halted. According to its CEO, the development has been halted because the team took the wrong path and turned its back to its Kickstarter backers.

As Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios, wrote:

“Maybe we were too successful. Maybe we lost our focus. The vision began to change. We moved from a Remaster to a completely new game. We shifted engines from Unity to Unreal, a choice that we don’t regret and one that has worked out for us. With the switch we began envisioning doing more, but straying from the core concepts of the original title.

As our concept grew and as our team changed, so did the scope of what we were doing and with that the budget for the game. As the budget grew, we began a long series of conversations with potential publishing partners. The more that we worked on the game, the more that we wanted to do, and the further we got from the original concepts that made System Shock so great.”

Stephen concluded that he considers himself responsible for this mess and that he let things get out of control, despite his good intentions. Good intentions… this reminds me that quote from Jurassic Park 3.

“Ultimately the responsibility for the decisions rests with me. As the CEO and founder of Nightdive Studios, a company that was built on the restoration of the System Shock franchise, I let things get out of control. I can tell you that I did it for all the right reasons, that I was totally committed to making a great game, but it has become clear to me that we took the wrong path, that we turned our backs on the very people who made this possible, our Kickstarter backers.”

Stephen claims that although the remake is now on hiatus, it is not canceled. This could mean that Nightdive Studios does not face any financial issues with its development. Because if it does then we can already kiss this remake goodbye.