Production on the System Shock Remaster has been put on hold as the studio refocuses and aims to give us the System Shock we were all hoping for
If you were hoping to get the System Shock Remastered out there any time soon, you will be let down with the most recent update. It looks like Nightdive Studios has had to place the game on a bit of hiatus and thus delayed the game until some undetermined time now. The System Shock Remastered is still being made, but it just looks like the team needs a bit of time to refocus and get back on track to deliver on all of their promises. They did raise a whole lot of money to bring it to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC so there is a lot riding on them getting it just right.
Most of the reasoning for the hiatus of production on System Shock Remastered seems linked to the team evolving and not being able to keep to the original idea and moving in the direction of a new title and not a remake. Blame is taken for it all so it is not just being used as a basic excuse. The bigger thing seems to be that the team has opted to switch from Unity to Unreal for development. It is not the easiest of shifts, but it sounds like it was the right move for this System Shock. I guess we will see when the team gets back on track and working toward what millions of people have paid for. Hopefully, this does not pull any funding and leave more developers looking for a new job.
Here is the official announcement of System Shock Remastered‘s hiatus. There is no mention of when or any kind of timeline for when the team will get back on task, but now you know what is going on with the game for now.
Sometimes You Need To Take a Step Back In Order To Take Two Steps Forward
In March of 2016, Nightdive Studios released our video of our vision of System Shock Remastered. Done in Unity it was an immediate hit with almost a half million views on YouTube. In June of 2016 we launched a Kickstarter campaign to make the vision into a reality. It was tremendously successful with over 21,000 backers contributing over $1.3 million to the campaign. We put together a development team and began working on the game. But along the way something happened.
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.
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.
Stephen Kick
How shocked are you by the hiatus of System Shock Remastered that we have here? Do you think this could spell the end of the game or will the team just need a bit of time to “refocus” and get back into full swing? Does this make you want to ask for a refund or does it show signs that the team is aiming to bring you the best that they can even if it takes a bit longer? Let everyone know down in the comments and then feel free to discuss. As we get more updates for System Shock Remastered, we will get them up on the site. Just keep your eyes open for when that all comes.