This Beloved Classic Video Game Is Getting A Live-Action TV Series Adaptation
The post-apocalyptic first-person shooter series "Bioshock," first released in 2007, ranks number 27 on IGN's top 100 video games of all-time list. Writer Jonathon Dornbrush credited its high quality to both an idiosyncratic setting and a late-game plot twist that recontextualizes many of the player character's actions up until that point. "System Shock 2," meanwhile, sits at number 80 on that same list.
"Bioshock" and "System Shock" are linked by more than the word their titles both contain — beyond even sharing a development team, some aspects of "Bioshock" were initially conceived for a third "System Shock" entry. So, while "Bioshock" may be the superior game by IGN's estimation, it wouldn't exist without the road paved by the "System Shock" series before it. Currently, "System Shock" is primed for a revival of sorts, with both a remake of the original "System Shock" and a proper "System Shock 3" in development.
Furthermore, as announced in a recent report by Deadline, "System Shock" will soon receive a live-action TV series adaptation.
A live action System Shock is coming soon
According to Deadline, the TV adaptation of "System Shock" will be a series original to streaming service Binge, which focuses on entertainment aimed at those interested in video games. Producing the series are Chief Content Officer of Binge Allan Ungar as well as Stephen Kick and Larry Kuperman from Nightdive Studios — the company that currently owns the rights to the "System Shock" franchise. Additional personnel, like writers or cast members, have yet to be announced.
"System Shock is an iconic franchise adored by gamers for more than two decades and a series that helped redefine what it meant to play an FPS," Ungar told Deadline. Kick, meanwhile, described the series' setting — the barren, labyrinthian, Citadel space station — and its villainous rogue AI, SHODAN, as elements he finds ideally suited to recreating in live-action.
The "System Shock" TV series is slated for a release sometime during 2022. Upon its release, the show will be available exclusively through Binge.