'System Shock' update: Reboot is now on hiatus

A screenshot of the reboot of the 1994 Looking Glass' game "System Shock." Night Dive Studios, the developer and publisher of the upcoming remake, announced that the game is put on hiatus.Steam/System Shock

Night Dive Studios, the developer and publisher of the reboot of the 1994 Looking Glass' game "System Shock," announced that the upcoming remake is now on hiatus.

According to a company statement obtained by Polygon, the upcoming reboot has been put on hiatus. Night Dive chief executive officer (CEO) Stephen Kicks said that he had put the team of developers of the remake on hiatus as the studio reassess the path they are going to take so that they can return to their vision of the game. He assured the Kickstarter backers and fans alike of the game that the studio is only taking a break and not ending the project. He emphasized that "System Shock" will be completed and that all the promises of the studio will be fulfilled as well.

Polygon also mentioned that Night Dive's director of business development Larry Kuperman said in an interview with the site that the Kickstarter funds (which amounted to $1.3 million) were eaten up by the studio's nonviable ambitions. He pointed out that as the funds for the game increased, so did the scope of what the studio's developers want to do with the remake which eventually, resulted to a vision that the studio can no longer finance. Moreover, he said that Night Dive failed when it tried to secure more funds for the game by pitching "System Shock" to publishers. Because of this, 15 contract workers will no longer be working on the game.

Kuperman said that after the hiatus, the developers will continue working on the reboot again. He estimated that the game will release 18 to 24 months from February 2018.