The Lost History of System Shock

If you’ve ever wondered why many of us have been clamoring for a System Shock 3 for several years now, why another sequel has yet to be greenlit, and why the original two games have yet to be made available via digital distribution, this “The Lost History of System Shock” editorial on G4 will prove to be quite informative. What a mess:

In 2006, a trio of rumors hinted that Electronic Arts was making System Shock 3. First came a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Then came a couple of unconfirmed reports in Shacknews and PC Gamer U.K., with the latter publication reporting that EA’s Redwood Shores studio was handling development.

But even if EA wanted to publish another System Shock, the company didn’t have the rights to do so. Back when the original game was made, producer Warren Spector negotiated a deal in which EA got the trademark to the series, while the developers at Looking Glass Studios kept the rights. To create another System Shock game, you need both. “My thinking was it would force us to be married so it never would be that either party should be able to say we own that, we’re making the next game, screw you,” Spector told the San Jose Mercury News last November.

In hindsight, the deal only jeopardized System Shock’s future. Looking Glass Studios closed in 2000, a year after System Shock 2’s release, and the copyright to the series went into the hands of an insurance company. That left EA with only the System Shock name, but no actual development rights.

In 2007, the System Shock trademark went dead, abandoned by EA. The Redwood Shores studio went on to develop Dead Space, a game with some uncanny similarities to System Shock — upgradeable attributes, scattered audio logs and a desolate space station overrun by monsters — but no conclusive evidence that the two games are related.

Exactly what happened on EA’s end remains a mystery. The publisher never confirmed whether it was working on System Shock 3, and declined to comment for this story.