System Shock 3 still has some life in it after all, as developer OtherSide Entertainment has revealed that Chinese corporation Tencent will be taking up the reigns of the troubled game with plans for the future.
System Shock 3 was originally announced back in 2015, but joint developer Starbreeze ran into serious troubles both financially and legally. OtherSide Entertainment, separated from Starbreeze early last year with a promise to continue work on the title while hunting for investors, but there’s been little information since.
© OtherSide Entertainment
A few days ago, VGC reported that ownership of the System Shock 3 website had swapped over to Tencent, one of Asia’s largest companies which holds investments in the likes of Ubisoft, Epic Games and more.
Yesterday, after a dearth of tweets for several months, the OtherSide Entertainment Twitter account officially confirmed the move, stating that “Tencent will be taking the System Shock franchise forward.”
1/2 We are happy to announce that Tencent will be taking the #SystemShock franchise forward.
— OtherSide Entertainment (@OtherSide_Games) May 20, 2020
It’s hard to tell from the tweets whether OtherSide Entertainment will still be involved in developing System Shock 3 in any manner. A followup message to the initial announcement read “As a smaller Indie studio it had been challenging for us to carry the project on our own. We believe Tencent's deep capabilities and expertise as a leading game company will bring the franchise to new heights.”
2/2 As a smaller Indie studio, it had been challenging for us to carry the project on our own. We believe Tencent's deep capabilities and expertise as a leading game company will bring the franchise to new heights.
— OtherSide Entertainment (@OtherSide_Games) May 20, 2020
While Tencent will certainly be involved in any further development for System Shock 3, PC Gamer has confirmed that the rights to the System Shock IP are still held by Nightdive Studios, a separate, Vancouver-based studio currently working on a remake of the original game. It’s a messy situation all round, but at least one thing seems likely from all of this: the System Shock franchise is far from finished, even if it may live on in two different forms.
