You may be aware that Nightdive Studios (formerly known as Night Dive Studios), the outfit responsible for recovering the rights to the System Shock franchise back in 2013, have been developing a remake of the first game since last year. A couple of months ago, they announced that they were going to fund its development using Kickstarter. That Kickstarter was launched today, with a funding goal of $900,000. Here's the pitch video:



Although System Shock Is Not An RPG™, there are at least two good reasons for posting about it here on the Codex front page. First of all, it may not surprise you at this point to learn that yes, Chris Avellone is involved with this game as well. He'll be helping to "shape and direct" the narrative, along with former Obsidianite Jason Fader, who is the project director. Second, the $1.4M stretch goal is adding RPG features. Specifically, a "true RPG character leveling system" with perks and skills.

The Kickstarter seems likely to reach that goal. Nightdive have put a great deal of effort into marketing their campaign, even producing a playable demo of their pre-alpha build, which is available for download on Steam or GOG (here's the trailer). If you're convinced by it, you can secure your copy of the System Shock remake for a minimum price of $30, with beta access available at $75. The game is scheduled for release in December 2017.