System Shock 3 is officially happening

Otherside Entertainment confirmed that System Shock 3 is in development, following the early, accidental reveal of a countdown clock set to unveil the news today.

Compensating for the spoiled reveal are a flurry of new details about the game, which remains undated and without a platform. Familiar character SHODAN will return, and the game's website has been updated with new dialogue for the character provided by her original voice actor.

Also working on the game are original team members like concept artist Robb Waters and Otherside founder Paul Neurath, who led the series' development at original developer Looking Glass Studios.

Signing up for updates about the project enters you to win an exclusive print of SHODAN designed by Waters, while also hinting at a possible new direction for the game. The required survey that enrolls you for the email updates includes a question gauging interest in a virtual reality System Shock title.

Whether that refers to a potential VR component of System Shock 3 or a different title is up in the air. A press release, however, confirms that there is a future for System Shock beyond this long-awaited new entry. OtherSide owns the rights to producing further games in the franchise, while trademark holder Night Dive Studios is collaborating to give the team access to using the System Shock name itself for this and any other games.

The new System Shock title is the series' first since 1999, when Looking Glass Studios released System Shock 2 for Windows PC.

Recently, Night Dive Studios announced plans to give gamers another chance to return to System Shock. The developer is working on a faithfully reimagined version of the original game. The studio also remastered the PC title for a re-release earlier this fall, as well. Check out gameplay from the high-definition port below.