One of the great classics of horror and science fiction in games is returning, with the long-awaited remake of System Shock. The return of the franchise and the revival of the genre, however, is no coincidence, according to game director and CEO of Nightdive Studios, Stephen Nick.

In an interview with VGC, the developer talked about the rise of horror games. While he says he can’t say why, he cites the Resident Evil 2 remake as one of the main factors: “The thing that really surprises me is that, traditionally, horror and sci-fi games don’t sell well, but I think the The advent of some recent remasters, specifically the Resident Evil games, has brought a lot of people wanting to play horror,” he said.

“Resident Evil 2 did an amazing job, they really set a standard for what a remake should be, and it sold incredibly well. And I think that was a big factor in why we’re seeing Dead Space being remade. I mean, Dead Space was a response to Resident Evil 4 when it came out, so history is repeating itself,” continued Nick.

The director turned out to be a big fan of the Dead Space franchise and was excited for its remake, also citing its spiritual successor, Callisto Protocol.

The System Shock remake was announced in 2016 and is still in development. According to Nick, original creators Warren Spector and Paul Neurath have been contributing regularly, helping to guide the project. “This was their baby and they trusted us with it. We’re lucky to have them have their say so we know when maybe we’re going too far or maybe not going far enough,” he concluded.

System Shock is announced for PC only, for now, and it still doesn’t have a release date, but it was playable at Gamescom 2022 last month, and it got a trailer in June.