System Shock 3 Is Up To Tencent
System Shock 3 fans have long been waiting for devs to release the game. Nightdive Studios—who owns the IP—clarified the status of the much-awaited installment. Apparently, the continuity of the franchise is now all up to Tencent.
“When we originally acquired the rights to the franchise, we licensed the rights for the third game to Warren Spector and Paul Neurath at Otherside,” said Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick. “They then subsequently sold their rights to Tencent.”
Kick’s statement confirms that it is now up to the Chinese conglomerate if a third game gets made or not. “Tencent currently has the rights to the third game and we have the rights to do the remake of the first game and potentially a remake of the second game,” he continued. “That is pretty much where it stands right now.”
System Shock 3 have been in development for several years now. Neurath and Spector were leading the team that was working on it. However, both these vets disappeared from the public arena in 2020. At the time, they informed the gaming community that they are leaving the franchise in Tencent’s hands. “We are happy to announce that Tencent will be taking the System Shock franchise forward,” they said.
Even Kick has no idea if either Spector or Neurath will be involved in the project. “I know Paul and Warren are still making games,” he said. “But that is as much as I know right now.”
Moreover, there is also the possibility of Tencent making more installments following System Shock 3. “I think they technically could do 4 and 5 as well,” he added. “But they would have to do 3 first.”
At the moment, Nightdive is hard at work at developing their System Shock remake. This project has been in the works since 2016. Unfortunately for fans, it still has no release date. However, it was playable at the recent Gamescom event.
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