Warren Spector’s OtherSide Entertainment has stopped work on the much-anticipated System Shock 3 In 2019, Spector confirmed in a A recent interview with GamesBeat. This announcement definitively ends hopes that Spector Studio may still be working with new publisher Tencent in a follow-up 1994 classic PC game And the sequel 1999.
The System Shock 3 project was It was first announced in 2015. Spector – known for its original production system shock As well as his work The former godAnd the ThiefAnd the Mickey’s Epic—It was a hit in 2016 when Leave academia to return to game development He joined the team at OtherSide Entertainment to work on the planned sequel.
But the project started showing signs of trouble in early 2019, when OtherSide had to Buy back the copyright A game from Starbreeze Studios. Although OtherSide was able to Show an overview of System Shock 3 Later that yearBy early 2020, the entire development team was It says it “no longer works” From OtherSide.
By May 2020, Spector was publicly saying That OtherSide still had plenty of money to pursue development on its own, and was said to have been attracting the interest of potential publishers. A few days later, OtherSide Advertise via tweet That Chinese gaming giant Tencent ‘will take system shock Franchising , ” adding That “As a smaller Indie studio, it was difficult for us to carry out the project on our own. We believe that Tencent’s deep capabilities and experience as a leading game company will bring the franchise to new heights.”
This vague announcement left OtherSide’s continued involvement in the project unclear, to say the least. at Message on OtherSide Forums At the time, community manager Alyssa Marshall said the studio was “still involved” despite the acquisition of Tencent. “But we can’t talk about it much further at the moment,” she added. “As we are allowed to publish more information, we will.”
This statement followed Previous message from OtherSide Marketing VP Walter Somol Insisting, “We’re still here,” gave fans a glimmer of hope in OtherSide’s continued engagement.
That’s all I have folks
This is where things stopped until Saturday, when Spector was He told VentureBeat Point blank that OtherSide’ worked on [System Shock 3] In 2018 and 2019. This was the case. “It will be up to them to say what they want to say. There is not much I can give you.”
The System Shock 3 Spector said the team had 17 people at its peak, and while it was a “good team…we had some circumstances. Now Tencent is ahead with the franchise. It’s a good thing for everyone, honestly.”
the end of System Shock 3 He said the project led Spector into a “period of personal recovery.” “I’m not sure how to say that. I take this personally, you know? Game development isn’t just a job for me. It took me a while to get my creative juices flowing again. And then COVID hit. The world went crazy.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Spector spoke vaguely about a “completely original” project that he sees as “the next step in immersive sims…if we make it through, people won’t be prepared for what’s going to happen to them.”
separate from System Shock 3Developer Nightdive Studios is working on a reboot of the original game Since 2016 successful Kickstarter. At that time, this project saw big delaysalthough a Trailer teaser And the playable show They were finally released about a year ago.