News
‘System Shock’ Remake put on Hold Temporarily
When we last heard from Nightdive Studios and their upcoming remake of System Shock, the team was still at work on the game’s “vertical slice”. However, that was really back in November. And the news coming out yesterday is not what fans wanted to hear.
On the game’s Kickstarter page, Nightdive Studios’ CEO and founder Stephen Kick has posted to state that development on the game has halted while the Nightdive team regroup to get back on track. You’re probably asking the same questions I asked when I first read that announcement. Well, according to Kick, along the way, the team moved from the remaster to “a completely new game.” After the change in engine from Unity to Unreal, the team “began envisioning doing more, but straying from the core concepts of the original title.”
As the concept grew, so did the scope of the game (and the game’s budget). “The more that we worked on the game, the more that we wanted to do, and the further we got from the original concepts that made System Shock so great.” As a result, Kick has “put the team on a hiatus while we reassess our path so that we can return to our vision. We are taking a break, but NOT ending the project…System Shock is going to be completed and all of our promises fulfilled.”
Certainly a small indie studio trying to update and bring one of the greatest PC games ever to a whole new generation of gamers is no small task. And at least Kick is up front with what’s going on, even if it’s not the greatest news in the world to backers. And it’s certainly more than what we’ve heard from the also-in-development System Shock 3 camp for a while now. Still, it’s not something you want to hear from a game that was set to come out later this year.
All of us here at Bloody Disgusting are deeply sad to learn that The Blob director Chuck Russell has passed away at 74 years old.
Russell’s career began with his directorial debut, 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
The multihyphenate film director, screenwriter, and producer is best known for helming 1994 comedy The Mask starring Jim Carrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner Eraser, and adventure spinoff The Scorpion King. The latter served as the first leading role for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The filmmaker left an indelible mark on horror with his ANOES sequel, 1988’s The Blob, and 2000’s Bless the Child.
Russell’s final film credit is 2024’s Witchboard remake starring Madison Iseman (I Know What You Did Last Summer), Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), and Jamie Campbell Bower (“Stranger Things”).
It marked Russell’s return to horror after a lengthy hiatus, and he shared sequel hopes to Bloody Disgusting in an interview ahead of the remake’s release: “I got to design the board with real mystical symbols and things that I know represent good and evil, and where that board takes us if the audiences respond to the film, and I hope they will; I know it’s out there for you guys, but the sequel is a world we’ll get to go a little further. That’s sure the intention.”
He also recently expressed interest in returning to the franchise that began his career.
TMZ notes that Russell passed away at his San Diego-area home.
We send our deepest condolences to Chuck Russell’s family, friends, and fans.
Director, Co-Writer & Producer Chuck Russell behind the scenes of the horror film, WITCHBOARD. Photo courtesy of The Avenue and Atlas Distribution
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