System Shock show to be written and directed by Mortal Kombat scriptwriter

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The series will be Greg Russo's directorial debut.

Teaser art for the System Shock TV series.
(Image credit: Binge)

Last year Nightdive Studios and livestreaming platform Binge.com announced a System Shock series, based on the cult Looking Glass games about a rogue AI and horribly warped crew aboard a corporate space station. Now comes the news that Greg Russo, who wrote the recent Mortal Kombat movie alongside various other game adaptations, is to write and direct the series (thanks, Deadline).

"I’m honored to have the opportunity to work alongside the fantastic team at Binge and Nightdive Studios to bring the iconic System Shock franchise to life," said Russo. "I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to make my directorial debut, and I finally found it."

Russo will also executive produce the series alongside Nightdive Studios’ Stephen Kick and Larry Kuperman. Binge CCO Allan Ungar will be the producer.

"Greg is a superbly talented screenwriter who possesses an unmatched knowledge and passion for gaming," said Ungar. "His artistic approach to storytelling and his deep understanding of the source material will undoubtedly get fans excited about this new franchise. We’re thrilled to be bringing him on board and can’t wait to share his vision with audiences worldwide."

As well as Mortal Kombat, Russo has written the upcoming Space Invaders and Saints Row movies. He also wrote a Resident Evil script that never got off the ground, which he shared some details of following this announcement. "What I can tell you is it followed RE7 into RE8. Basically Ethan, Mia, Zoe, Eveline, etc. But there was uncertainty at the time as to how RE7 was going to perform. This was early 2017. In hindsight, it performed really well. Idk. Would have been fun."

Away from the small screen Nightdive Studios, which acquired the rights to the series in 2015, is remaking the original game and an "enhanced edition" of System Shock 2; System Shock 3 is also purportedly in development but hasn't broken cover since May 2020, when Tencent took charge.

System Shock is one of the PC gaming greats (one of those you want to replay whenever someone mentions it) and its acclaim is partly owed to its creepy and oppressive atmosphere, that sense Russo refers to of being an insect that something is out to crush. Binge has previously said it expects to share more details about the System Shock series this year to coincide with the platform's launch, so hopefully we'll see something sooner rather than later. I know, we shodan't get our hopes up.

Rich Stanton
Rich Stanton
Senior Editor

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."