In a surprise announcement, OtherSide Entertainment, the current developers of the iconic System Shock franchise, announced that they would no longer be the developers of the franchise.
Taking to Twitter, OtherSide announced that they would be selling the franchise to developers Tencent, placing the franchise in their hands. The announcement comes at a time when countless developers have been thoroughly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are happy to announce that Tencent will be taking the System Shock franchise forward,” OtherSide announced. “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.”
In the last few months, Indie studios have been hit incredibly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the cancelation of so many different conventions and events, many of which dramatically fuel the indie scene, there were even fundraisers being started to help.
System Shock is also an incredibly legendary franchise, often credited for being one of the most influential titles throughout gaming. Some have already balked to see it in the hands of an independent developer as it was.
https://twitter.com/OtherSide_Games/status/1173413893189832705?s=20
Last August, we wrote on the remake of System Shock 2, which was being developed by Nightdive Studios at the time. As of now, the portfolio on Nightdive’s website has a placeholder for System Shock 2, but otherwise remains unfilled.
Additionally, the title doesn’t seem to have been released, as searching for the title reveals only Nightdive’s original 2019 announcement. There seems to have been little, if any, development or updates on the title.
Tencent, meanwhile, is a juggernaut of a developer based out of Shenzhen, China. They’re one of the largest gaming companies in the world, owning parts of a high number of companies. They have a stake in titles like League of Legends, Fortnite, and a massive list of others.
With virtually endless resources, Tencent will undoubtedly be able to give the System Shock franchise what it needs to flourish. OtherSide have been working on a System Shock 3 title, which has undoubtedly seen some changes due to this new changing of the guard.
As the franchise moves forward, fans are eagerly awaiting to know what the next step will be. With such a legendary franchise, there’s a lot of expectations that have been set, from the fan base and the gaming community at large.