UPDATE: Following up on our report from last week, it now looks as if System Shock 3 is as good as dead.

Sam Luangkhot, the former community manager at OtherSide Entertainment, used Otherside's official forums to say "I know people are concerned about the state of the studio. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried as well [...] I understand this is the reality of game development, and doing this kind of work at an indie makes this so much harder. I watched firsthand a lot of the struggles that went into publishing [Underworld Ascendant]. I wish all of our fellow former- and current-OSE employees the best of luck with their endeavours."

Luangkhot also pointed toward a post on RPGCodex from an anonymous developer, confirming its authenticity. The post from user Kin Corn Karn claimed to no longer be employed by Otherside and said the project was "critically behind". They go on to say "we were on our way to make something unique and possibly fun, but probably not what the audience was hungry for.”

It looks as if that may be curtains for System Shock 3 and OtherSide Entertainment, at least for now. System Shock fans won't be left totally empty-handed though - the System Shock remake still appears t be progressing well.

Original Story: 05-Feb-2020 - It looks as if System Shock 3 may be in development hell

System Shock fans have had plenty to look forward to as of late. There’s that full blown remake of the original System Shock inbound, as well as the promise of an honest-to-goodness sequel in the form of System Shock 3. Sadly, it looks as if the latter is having a really rough time of it right now.

OtherSide Austin, developer of System Shock 3, has had significant layoffs over the past few months. According to the LinkedIn profiles of those associated with System Shock 3, everyone from the senior producer to senior software engineer, senior graphics programmer, lead programmer and level designer all parted ways at the end of 2019.

Kotaku’s Jason Schreier has got the inside scoop of sorts, admitting it’s “Definitely accurate that they've downsized. I know Warren Spector is still working on the game, and working on finding a way to make it happen. Don't know how many other people are still there.”

Warren Spector is the legendary producer and director behind classics link the original System Shock, Deus Ex, Thief, Ultima Underworld and Wing Commander. He worked with OtherSide Entertainment on Underworld Ascendant, a game which failed miserably, both in terms of user and critic reviews. Since then, Spector has continued to be involved in System Shock 3, appearing to be one of the few people still trying to find a way to bring this elusive sci-fi immersive sim to market.

We’ll keep you posted just as soon as we hear anything more, although the signs certainly don’t look good for System Shock 3 right now, despite the seemingly advanced stage of development.