Originally released in 1994, System Shock ushered in a new era of action gaming. Combining a compelling storyline with innovative RPG elements, System Shock was a ground-breaking title that would influence numerous other games such as BioShock and DeusEx. Now System Shock is being redone from the ground up for today’s PC and console players.

System Shock was one of the first 3D games that took a methodical approach to exploration while revealing a story driven narrative through audio logs and messages scattered throughout the game world. It was a revolutionary step forward for the medium in a time when developers first began experimenting with interactive story telling.

Players were trapped aboard Citadel Station as they fought to survive against the cyborgs and mutated crew members corrupted by a maniacal A.I. known as SHODAN, one of the most treacherous antagonists ever conceived. System Shock offered an unparalleled experience that would solidify it as one of the greatest games of all time.

Caught during a risky break-in, you become indentured to a greedy TriOptimum executive. After six months in a healing coma, you awaken to discover the surgeons are missing, the station is in disrepair, and the once-prime corporate facility now teems with mindless cyborgs, robots, and mutated beings, all programmed to serve a ruthless A.I.: SHODAN. There's scarcely time to think before it unleashes the first terror...

Nightdive has surpassed the initial $900,000 Kickstarter goal, settings its sights on the stretch goals.

→ $900k Goal: Modern Inventory Management, Modern Controls, New Puzzles, Updated Faithful Levels, Game Difficulty Modes.
→ $1.7m Goal : Enemy limb dismemberment, More puzzles, Ammo types/weapon settings, Vending machines, Basic components/research, RPG progression, Weapon upgrading, Hardcore mode (No respawning), Ironman mode (Only 1 savegame. If you die, the save is deleted)

When Nightdive started in 2012, it was a one man operation with a singular goal- Recover gaming's lost treasures and make them available again for all to enjoy. As operating systems and video cards become more complex, we lose the ability to go back and replay many of the games we grew up with. I wanted to do everything I could to breathe new life into these forgotten classics.

The journey started with System Shock 2 and the reception/support I received allowed me to seek out other like minded individuals who would help locate and revive more lost classics like: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, Wizardry, and The 7th Guest series to name a few. As we continued to grow in team size, so did our ambitions. With the release of The Original Strife: Veterans Edition and Noctropolis we were able to restore the games and add additional features. We fixed original bugs, included unfinished games mode, added support for widescreen monitors, and implemented OpenGL to update the visuals. Next was Turok, followed by System Shock: Enhanced Edition and an even greater desire to take our mission to the next level.   

We had done everything we could to make the Enhanced Edition more accessible to a modern audience but it reached the point where we began discussing a remake from the ground up. We started with a core team and a simple prototype to see if we could capture the look and feel of the original game.

Pleased with the results we then brought on Robb Waters to help us re-imagine the enemies, weapons and other memorable props and items from the game, and to create a common thread between the remake and the original game. Robb concepted the original game, he should be the one to revisit the remake.

A few more team members were brought on to take our prototype and develop it into the pre-alpha demo we would eventually release with Kickstarter. Our campaign began with a tremendous surge of support and in less than two weeks we've been completely funded...

There's no possible way I could convey how grateful the Nightdive team is to the 14,000+ backers who put their trust in us - we're having a lot of fun remaking System Shock and we owe it all to you! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! 

Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios

Interested fans can still download a fully playable demo (Steam, GOG.com or Humble Store).

To help shape and direct the existing narrative of System Shock, we've enlisted the help of Chris Avellone, who is best known for his work on a number of role-playing games, including; Fallout: New Vegas, Wasteland 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Planescape: Torment, and Fallout 2. Chris will be working closely with Stephen Kick (our Creative Director) and Jason Fader (our Project Director and Senior Producer from Fallout: New Vegas) as well as several other key developers from Fallout: New Vegas to bring modern AAA quality into the world of System Shock.

• General Features
  → A modern take on System Shock, a faithful reboot; it’s not Citadel Station as it was, but as you remember it. Many improvements, overhauls and changes are being implemented to capture the spirit of what the original game was trying to convey, and bring it to contemporary gamers.
  → Re-imagined enemies, weapons, and locations by original concept artist Robb Waters.
  → Terri Brosius reprises her role as SHODAN, and new VO will be recorded.
  → Brand new musical score composed by Jonathan Peros.
  → The user interface, game mechanics, enemies, and puzzles will be updated to reflect modern aesthetics and sensibilities, while maintaining the feel of the original.

We want this game to be as chilling to players today as the original System Shock was when it was released in 1994. What is most important to us is taking the essence of the original game, and emphasizing that as we present it to gamers today. With the knowledge and technological improvements over the last 22 years since the original, we can communicate the story of Citadel Station more effectively than ever.

System Shock will have a dramatic and modern take on a musical score. Combining its root sci-fi elements with dynamic acoustic elements à la BioShock, we are striving to set System Shock apart from other more action-based shooters as an atmospheric and dark experience.

Though computer music software has improved exponentially in the last decade, there is no equivalent to the breathtaking and visceral sounds that real instruments can produce. We have been working with Videri String Quartet, and we are in talks with Prague's FILMharmonic Orchestra about recording the score for System Shock. They're a very professional orchestra, having recorded scores for Civilization V, Thief, Hostel, Dream Theater, and many more projects. If we can reach the stretch goal required to afford everything that it takes to record a full orchestra, the game's musical experience will be much more expressive and terrifying than would ever be possible without.

Though for a modern game like System Shock, a more restrained and dramatic approach is called for, we are also really excited to bring the old System Shock tunes back to life in an updated way! With a roster of world-class musicians, we have set a stretch goal to release a remixed version of the original soundtrack intact! Please help us to make this a reality so that we cannot only provide a strong modern gameplay experience, but also give the old tunes the love that they deserve!