Starbreeze sells back publishing rights to System Shock 3

Starbreeze announced today that it has sold the publishing rights for System Shock 3 back to developers OtherSide Entertainment, though the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The publisher initially signed on with OtherSide to publish the game back in 2017, which was still in the early concept stages of development. The decision to sell back publishing rights was mutual. 

Starbreeze originally signed on to invest $12 million into OtherSide's System Shock revival over the course of development, but it's not clear how much it's actually spent to date, or how much it expects to get for the rights now. 

However, the company's announcement does include the statement that Starbreeze "fully expects to be reimbursed for costs the company has had in connection with the development of the game." 

“I believe this is the best solution for us, although it is sad that we cannot complete the project with OtherSide. System Shock 3 is a fantastic title developed in cooperation with the industry legend Warren Spector and I am looking forward to seeing the game released," said Starbreeze’s acting CEO Mikael Nermark about the license changing hands.

It's not clear what Starbreeze's plans for the future are, though the company does make a point of stating it currently hold publishing rights for the upcoming Psychonauts 2 and Mohawk Games' upcoming strategy game 10 Crowns.

Starbreeze itself has seemed to be on the rocks for months, ever since Swedish authorities raided the company's headquarters in December on suspicion of insider trading. Shortly thereafter, Starbreeze filed for administration and company chief Bo Andersson resigned both from the board and from his role as CEO.