ALL THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF PC GAMES

News

System Shock remaster put on hiatus after making $1.3m via Kickstarter

System Shock remaster put on hiatus after making $1.3m via Kickstarter

The crowdfunded remake of cult classic sci-fi role-playing game System Shock has been put on hold.

In a post on Kickstarter, the CEO of developer Nightdive Studios Stephen Kick said that along the way, things went awry with the project. The exec says that there are a number of things that might have changed with the game, including a lack of focus, or the vision changing. The remake raised $1,350,700 - more than its $900,000 goal - from 21,625 backers. 

In the meantime, the project has been put on hold while the team figures out just what has happened. Kick emphasises that this is not the end of the game's development.

"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," he said.

"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.

"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.

"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."

This isn't the only System Shock game in development, with Warren Spector and OtherSide Entertainment making a third entry in the sci fi immersive sim franchise.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.