Is System Shock 3 Still Happening?

Now that the System Shock remake is here, what’s the story with System Shock 3? We’ve not heard anything in a while. And a lot of people, myself included, are wondering whether System Shock 3 is still happening. Here’s what you need to know.

System Shock 3 Is Not Canceled at Tencent, but It’s Uncertain If It’s Really Happening

Right now, System Shock 3 is either in development hell or in an early stage of development. In December 2015, OtherSide Entertainment acquired the rights to develop System Shock 3 from Nightdive Studios, but in May 2020, OtherSide released a statement that multinational corporation Tencent had taken over the development. In March 2022, OtherSide co-founder Warren Spector (who also created the original System Shock) clarified that OtherSide had ceased developing System Shock 3 at all after 2019, and the project belongs exclusively to Tencent now.

Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick has reiterated that the rights to System Shock 3 (and potentially additional sequels) belong to Tencent, but Tencent has not commented on the project’s development since acquiring it. If Tencent has a studio developing the game, it has not made that information public.

When OtherSide was developing the game, it received a non-gameplay teaser trailer in March 2019, and in September 2019, it received a pre-alpha gameplay trailer. The latter looked pretty good and suggested the game would take place at a TriOptimum Blacksite. It is unclear if Tencent is retaining anything that OtherSide developed though — and it is also unclear if System Shock 3 is even currently in active development.

So, the answer to if System Shock 3 is still happening is — possibly, but Tencent has not acknowledged its development publicly, which is deeply concerning.