Video Games
OtherSide Entertainment Lays Off ‘System Shock 3’ Staff, Leaving Future Development in Question
You would think that after that awesome teaser at GDC 2019 that things would be humming along at OtherSide Entertainment with System Shock 3‘s development. That seems to be far from the case, as according to an article at VDC, OtherSide has been bleeding employees.
According to the article, design director Chase Jones left OtherSide last week, joining other key staff including “System Shock 3‘s writer & director, senior designer, lead programmer, QA lead, senior environment artist and more” who have all either left or been laid off. There’s even a thread on the OtherSide forum that’s been cataloguing the departures since June.
So, what’s the cause of all of this? According to a former OtherSide developer on the RPG Codex forum, Starbreeze’s implosion after the failure of Overkill’s The Walking Dead, and subsequent selling back System Shock 3‘s publishing rights to OtherSide caused obvious havoc. OtherSide had been looking for another publisher, and was prepared to self-publish the game, but that obviously no longer appears to be the case.
“If Starbreeze hadn’t gone into crisis I think we would’ve delivered something interesting with some fresh and innovative gameplay, but a much smaller game than what people were expecting and inevitably disappointing for a sequel to such a beloved franchise.” As for if the project has been abandoned, the employee responded, “I don’t actually know what’s going on, but the team is no longer employed there.”
Raw Tale Games recently dropped a new devlog for its long-in-development medieval job sim Dreadwoods Gatekeeper, which is currently in development for release on Steam. Likened to Papers, Please with an atmospheric horror twist, the devlog dives into various aspects of the game, which main developer Darko describes as a “combination of story, horror, atmosphere, and simulation elements”.
Dreadwoods Gatekeeper sees you take on the role of a young army recruit who’s not the greatest at his job. To compensate for your lack of training, you choose to take on the job of gatekeeper for an isolated gate outpost in the Dreadwoods region. Your job is simple: inspect travelers, their documents, and the goods in their wagons before decide to let them through. At the same time, you’ll also be doing maintenance of the old gatehouse, and keeping yourself and your animal companions fed.
Needless to say, the locals talk of how the outpost is cursed, but you don’t believe it. You soon start to change your mind, as something doesn’t feel quite right about this place. Are you truly alone here? Could there be something supernatural lurking in the shadows? It’s up to you to uncover the truth while carrying out your duties and surviving the eerie nights.
Currently, the game has been in development since 2024. Raw Tale Games is currently planning future playtests for Dreadwoods Gatekeeper, which you can currently track for updates via the mailing list.