System Shock Director Says Nightdive’s First Original IP Would “No Doubt Be A Horror Game”

Highlights

Nightdive Studio’s dedication to reviving retro games like Doom 64 and System Shock on modern consoles is truly commendable.
Co-founder Stephen Kick’s passion for horror games, inspired by Stephen King and Lovecraft, will birth Nightdive’s original horror IP.
The mysterious concept for Nightdive’s future game, set beneath the sea with Lovecraftian influences, promises a thrilling gaming experience.

Remakes have become projects to be frowned upon in the film industry, seen as lacking originality and creativity. But in Nightdive Studio’s case, in the videogames sector, the team’s mission to preserve retro titles and render them playable on current-gen consoles by modern players is admirable.

After securing the rights to abandonware projects, the studio has worked tirelessly for over a decade to remake, remaster, and port beloved gems like Doom 64, Quake, and more recently, System Shock – which we applauded for its lo-fi visuals, sound design, and cyberspace aesthetic. Looking beyond pre-existing material, however, Nightdive’s co-founder already has ideas for an original IP.

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Nightdive Director Reveals Horror IP Idea Discussing System Shock Gore

System Shock 2’s 2012 release put Nightdive on the map, and the studio’s co-founder and System Shock remake director, Stephen Kick, shared with GamesRadar that “horror video games in general have always been a big part of my personal DNA”. Named after acclaimed writer Stephen King, Kick’s love for the genre flourished from exposure to EC Comics and Lovecraft, and naturally, this content strain is set to inspire the studio’s first property.

After discussing the endeavor to inject “Dead Space levels of carnage” and gore into the 2023 System Shock remake, Kick was asked about Nightdive’s future and if an original IP had ever crossed the team’s mind. The director admitted the notion had been “brought up a lot” and confirmed, “if we did an original IP it would no doubt be a horror game”.

Kick touched upon an idea in his mind “for the last 11 years”, relating to Nightdive’s logo and intro played before each game. Framing the company’s symbol of an “old diving helmet at the bottom of the sea that gets pulled up by this tentacle in the darkness”, Kick explained that this image was “meant to evoke this idea that there’s treasure, there’s stuff in the darkness that’s there for you to discover”.

This concept also tied in with Nightdive’s legacy, which is to “go out and find lost gaming treasures, bringing them back for people to enjoy and experience again”. After the studio’s success with its initial releases, Kick figured this idea, fueled by the studio’s mission, would translate well into a game and build upon the “mood and this ambiance, and this music that would be perfect for something like that”, referring to the studio’s title sequence.

Rounding off this exciting premise, Kick detailed that the game would be set “beneath the sea, having to do with ancient things sleeping”, which certainly sounds like it’s circling back to the co-founder’s roots in Lovecraft mythos.