A couple of weeks ago, we had the unexpected surprise of System Shock 3 being announced. Night Dive Studios recently acquired the rights to this legendary franchise's trademark and is now in the process of remaking the first System Shock.

However, they are partnering with Otherside Entertainment (which had previously secured rights to all future versions of the franchise) in order to develop the brand new System Shock 3. Without too much fanfare, amidst a blog post on the official website of Underworld Ascendant, Otherside provided some additional information on what's going on behind the scenes right now.

Like all holiday seasons, it's great when old friends comes by for a visit... even if they're megalomaniacal AIs. Yep! In case you missed it, we're excited to announce System Shock 3. If you swing over to the SS3 teaser site, you can hear voice actress Terri Brosius (System Shock 1 & 2, Dishonored) reprise her role as the voice of SHODAN and see an early peek at the evolving 'next generation' look of the character by concept artist Robb Waters. System Shock 3 is currently in the very beginning stages of concept development and we won't be digging fully into game production for some time. Our studio focus today remains squarely on Underworld Ascendant. But we thought it'd be fun for our Underworld Ascendant fans -- many of whom are fans of the System Shock series as well -- to get a peek at what will be coming down the road.

System Shock fans will have to wait at least a couple more years, then, as Otherside Entertainment is already busy. Underworld Ascendant had a very successful Kickstarter last February, raising over $860K; pledging is still possible on the official website (via PayPal) and the total crowdfunding amount is now at $915K, approaching yet another stretch goal.

A combat prototype (which looked very promising in this video) is already available to backers, with the game tentatively set for release in November. With talented and experienced ex-Looking Glass developers like Paul Neurath, Nate Wells and Robb Waters, things are looking up for both System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendant.