System shock 2 controls Pc#
System shock 2 controls license#
System shock 2 controls series#

We could scarcely believe that our wishes had finally been answered, and after the usual legal checking of bona-fides on our end, we entered a deal with Stephen and there we are, talking to RPS about the digital return of one of the best PC games of all times. A very tough case, definitely, but we never lost hope.Īnd actually the unexpected occurred: one day Stephen contacted us and informed us he secured the rights for digital distribution of System Shock 2! He had heard of GOG and our popular community wish list-which allows our users to request games and site features they want to see on GOG-and the fact that over 34,000 users had voted that they wanted to see SS2 released on GOG made Stephen wanna join forces with us to make the release happen. It was a real investigation a la Tex Murphy. You know the drill: one step forward, two steps back. We got lots of answers, sometimes aiming at the same direction, sometimes pointing in conflicting ones. Rambourg: We have contacted lots of publishers, developers and lawyers over the past 4-5 years - mostly industry veterans actually - to better understand the big legal puzzle behind this game and identify who owns the trademark, the IP, the code, distribution rights and so forth. Knowing that gamers may never have the chance to play such an incredible game fueled my desire to make it happen. What I discovered was a mystery that needed to be solved. I even contacted members of the original development team to get their side of the story. I really started to wonder why the game was no longer available and it lead me on a search for old interviews, articles, videos, forum posts, or anything else I could find relating to the game. I didn’t expect the game to hold up after all this time, but I found myself more engaged than I had been with any game for as long as I can remember. I had just replayed the game while travelling through Guatemala on my netbook, and found myself completely immersed in the story and lost in the atmosphere. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time, but to be honest I never imagined I’d see the day.

System shock 2 controls license#

Before negotiations began I had very little experience in the realm of business so the idea of starting a development studio and potentially working with the System Shock license was incredibly daunting. Kick: It’s been a very lengthy process that’s required a great deal of patience and research. RPS: System Shock 2 has been one of the most requested games on GOG since GOG came into existence – how much effort has been going into securing rights and for how long? Guillaume Rambourg (GOG.com): We, of course, have been working on getting System Shock 2 on GOG.com more or less since we started operations, and we were absolutely thrilled when Stephen contacted us from Night Dive indicating that he was able to secure these rights. I pitched the rights-holder with the focus being on the digital distribution of System Shock 2 and-as much to my surprise as anyone's, possibly-here we are today. The short version is that negotiations began in October of last year. Stephen Kick (Night Dive): The rights are still held in a very complicated tangle and going into all of it makes for very dry reading. What negotiations, with any parties involved, have taken place in order to secure digital distribution rights?

System shock 2 controls series#

When Looking Glass ceased to be, the rights passed to Meadowbrook Insurance Group and without both, the series cannot be revived. As I understand it – and I may well be wrong – Looking Glass retained the rights while EA held the trademark. RPS: The story of the System Shock rights and trademark has frustrated people for years. How did all of this come about and what is System Shock 2's place in gaming, past, present and future? I spoke to Stephen Kick of Night Dive, who secured the rights and worked on the release, and Guillaume Rambourg at GOG.com.

I envy those who can now play for the first time, but there is no longer an excuse not to indulge in yet another playthrough of one of the finest and most frightening games ever made. Today, Good Old Games announce that they will finally, and exclusively, be selling a digital download version of System Shock 2.