System Shock 3: Leaks & Everything We Know
The System Shock 3 development has been somewhat of a mystery over the years, and development on the third game in the franchise has been turbulent to say the least.
Beginning life fifteen years ago - before beginning abandoned, then transferred amongst multiple publishers - it has been a wild ride for one of gaming's most influential and iconic franchises. So here's our rundown on everything we know about System Shock 3, including its gameplay, story, and more.
System Shock 3: The History So Far
Click to enlargeThe first concept of System Shock 3 began some fifteen years ago, after the original IP owners, EA, renewed the System Shock trademark, and EA Redwood Shores began development on the project. Eventually it would be shelved as they developed the idea for Dead Space instead, and the System Shock IP was left in the dust.
Eventually though, in 2015, Night Dive Studios acquired the licence and breathed life back into the franchise by contracting OtherSide Entertainment (formed by System Shock 2 developers) to make the title. The original two games ended up received enhanced editions, a remake of the original game was begun by Nightdive, and legendary designer Warren Spector jumped aboard the third game's development. It was a good time for System Shock fans, but ultimately financial issues plagued OtherSide and a third game once again seemed impossible.
In 2020, it was confirmed by OtherSide that the rights for System Shock 3 were transferred to Tencent, where development would continue in conjunction with OtherSide, which was confirmed by Spector. Since then, we've not heard much information, but the title still seems to be in development.
System Shock 3: Trailers
The most recent trailers for the System Shock 3 were released over two years ago in March and September 2019. The first was a teaser trailer shown at GDC, that showed some scary in-engine footage. We got flashes of a horrific mutant eating someone's flesh, a robot gone rampant, someone strapped to a bed, along with Shodan - voiced by Terri Brosius herself.
The second from 2019 was a pre-alpha gameplay teaser, showcasing some actual gameplay and more in-engine footage, focusing more on some of the frightening action and monsters you'll no doubt fight. Shodan also provides voice-over, taunting the viewer and claiming this to be her "reckoning."
Since then, we've not had anything on the trailer front, and we can only guess as to how representative they are of the version we'll eventually see.
System Shock 3: Gameplay And Story
The System Shock 3 gameplay has previously been confirmed to follow in the footsteps of the second game, but with the refinements of twenty years of game design. Based on what we know, it will be a first-person game, that blends survival-horror, role-playing, and immersive sim elements together.
If it does follow the previous games closely, then expect the ability to customise your character's attributes, and an open-ended nature in how you interact with the in-game systems and solve problems. Some of this is reflected in the gameplay teaser from 2019, and it does like very 'System Shock' in nature, so it seems it will stay faithful to the franchise.
Story-wise, Warren Spector has previously confirmed it will continue on immediately from the events of System Shock 2. Sorry for the spoilers, but after the main character thinks they have destroyed Shodan, she managed to inhabit the body of a human called Rebecca. From here, Shodan has no doubt got into another space station's systems using her body, and turned it into a nightmare for the humans onboard.
Once again, we haven't heard anything about the project since Tencent's involvement, and all of this could be subject to change.
System Shock 3: Platforms
Initially, the game was designed with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in mind, along with a PC release. This may have changed with the current console generation of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, especially considering we shouldn't expect to see the game for another few years.