System Shock 2needs little introduction . It was a massively influential sci - fi immersive sim that go on to charm countless titles that plot after , including Bioshock . It ’s also the secret plan that put Nightdive Studios on the mapping in 2014 after the studio managed to prevail the rights to the System Shock franchise and get a modern PC - compatible version of the secret plan up on shopfront like GOG .
That ’s why it ’s fitting that , to celebrateSystem electrical shock 2 ’s twenty-fifth anniversary , Nightdive Studios is work on a comprehensiveKEX Engineremaster of this PC gambling classic , launching on June 26 . It has been a long - meter coming though , asSystem Shock 2 : 25th Anniversary Remasterwasfirst teased under a dissimilar nameover five and a half years ago . At GDC 2025 , I belong hands - on with the opening hr of the remaster and regain it to be a beautiful rendition of an all - time gaming dandy . And there ’s a good cause that it ’s taken this long to get it .
The time is right for this remaster
“ When we first launchedSystem Shock 2 , we did not have our own engine , ” Nightdive ’s VP of Business Development Larry Kuperman tells Digital Trends . “ We did not have KEX . We were capable to work with our partners at GOG and make the secret plan playable , but that was it . There were no enhancements there and we had no material power to do anything . Now , we ’re capable to remaster the secret plan using our locomotive and the experience that we ’ve compile . ”
Nightdive has cemented itself as a master of the remaster through its enhancements of secret plan classics likeDoomandStar Wars : Dark Forcesand more vague titles fromThe ThingtoPO’d . The studio apartment ’s prowess at making remasters is on full display withSystem jounce 2 : twenty-fifth Anniversary Remaster . It looks pretty than most graphics mods can even make the original flavor , and feel respectable to run with stock control on a Steam Deck .
We just wanted to make trusted that this was as good as it could perchance be .
This is actually the first timeSystem Shock 2is move to be playable with a controller , so Nightdive has thoughtfully tweaked the UI and control by building on the base it fructify with its remake ofSystem Shock . The studio apartment even design to record some new talks for the game to interchange voice act in the master that specifically calls out PC inputs . Plus , there are smaller but of import modification , like remove some copyright images from the original and reworking living so player no longer float a bit above the ground .
Overall , System Shock 2 : 25th Anniversary Remasterlooks to be a very exhaustive , faithful remaster on par with Nightdive ’s previous work . Still , it take a morsel longer than usual before Nightdive could give it the full amount of tending it deserved . Kuperman explains that other projection likeDoom + Doom 2popped up and push back work on the remaster a bit
“ It was other projects , ” Kuperman says of the long evolution cps . “ When Bethesda come to you and says ‘ Would you like to remasterDoomandDoom 2 ? ’ it did n’t take me long to reply that doubtfulness . Then , the motion was while we ’re doing those , what wo n’t we be working on actively . organisation shock absorber 2 : twenty-fifth Anniversary Remasterwas always in development , but it was the doubtfulness of how much resources would you put toward it . ”
Meanwhile , Studio Head Stephen Kick say that due toSystem Shock 2 ’s importance to the studio and how braggy of an undertaking this remaster was , it took a little longer for Nightdive Studios to make for it to market .
“ The whole studio was founded on the re - issue ofSystem Shock 2 , and we take a lot of time with this , ” Kick order Digital Trends . “ It was also a compounding of its significance to the studio and it being a lot more complicated than we guess it was go to be . There ’s a set of organization running in the background that would not be now apparent to a thespian at cheek economic value . It really test the expertise of our railroad engineer and artists . We just want to verify that this was as good as it could possibly be . ”
system of rules Shock 2 : twenty-fifth Anniversary Remasterlaunches on June 26 for PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X / S , and Nintendo Switch .
