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‘System Shock’ is Finally Getting a Remake, ‘System Shock 3’ is Being Discussed
It’s happened. The horror genre has hit its stride. Things can’t get much better than this, it can only be downhill from here. In addition to the Resident Evil 2 remake we’re getting in the probably still very distant future, we will also be getting a remake of the original System Shock, as well as a possible System Shock 3.
Let’s start with the one that’s definitely coming. After more than two decades, the original System Shock will be remade by Night Dive Studios, the same team that remastered it back in September.
This news comes from a recent interview with Fast Company, where Night Dive CEO Stephen Kick confirmed they had “acquired the full rights to the franchise” and they’re currently working with the game’s original concept artist, Robert Waters, to reimagine his work.
“Seeing the difference between his artistic abilities back then compared to now, and his ability to reinterpret those ideas, its just been really exciting for us,” said Kick.
Unlike the original, the remake will be coming to consoles. It’s too early to say which ones, but it’s good to know that this almost exclusively PC series will have a wide new audience to tap into.
As for System Shock 3, the studio’s head of business development Larry Kuperman says that while they’re interested in it, such a project “is going to take resources and time and commitment that we don’t have, and it’s really not our core business.” For it to happen, development will likely need to be handled by a third party.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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