In 2007, Irrational Games released a spiritual successor to the System Shock series, titled BioShock, to critical acclaim and strong sales.

Navigation is presented from a first-person view and complemented with a heads-up display that shows character and weapon information, a map, and a drag and drop inventory.

The Marine begins with bonuses to weaponry, the Navy officer is skilled in repairing and hacking, and the OSA agent gets a starting set of psionic powers.

An in-game currency called "nanites" may be spent on items at vending machines, including ammunition supplies and health packs.

When a hack is attempted, a minigame begins that features a grid of green nodes; the player must connect three in a straight row to succeed.

In 2100, 28 years later, the company's failed stocks and assets were bought by a Russian oligarch named Anatoly Korenchkin, a former black market operator who sought to make money legitimately.

Owing to a computer malfunction, the remaining soldier awakens with amnesia in a cryo-tube on the medical deck of the Von Braun, being implanted with an illegal cyber-neural interface.

[21] While en route, the soldier briefly encounters two survivors, Thomas "Tommy" Suarez and Rebecca Siddons,[a] who flee the ship aboard an escape pod.

The philosophy of the design was to continue to develop the concept of a dungeon crawler, like Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, in a science fiction setting, the basis for System Shock.

Similar to Ultima Underworld, another Looking Glass Studios project, the environment in System Shock 2 is persistent and constantly changes without the player's presence.

Additionally, many employees were largely inexperienced, but in retrospect project manager Jonathan Chey felt this was advantageous, stating "inexperience also bred enthusiasm and commitment that might not have been present with a more jaded set of developers.

[29] Not all setbacks were localized; a demonstration build at E3 was hindered when it was requested all guns be removed from the presentation due to then-recent Columbine High School massacre.

[37][38][39] An enhancement patch was released a month later and added significant features, such as co-operative multiplayer and control over weapon degradation and enemy respawn rates.

In 2009, a complete copy of System Shock 2's Dark Engine source code was discovered in the possession of an ex-Looking Glass Studios employee who was at the time continuing his work for Eidos Interactive.

[47] Kick decided to approach GOG.com for a timed-exclusive release on their digital distribution website in February 2013, where the game was the most requested to be added to the catalog.

In a retrospective article, GameSpot declared the title "well ahead of its time" and stated that it "upped the ante in dramatic and mechanical terms" by creating a horrific gameplay experience.

[34] Despite critical acclaim and being the tenth best selling PC game in the US the month of its release,[69] the title did not perform well commercially;[70] only 58,671 copies were sold by April 2000.

"[67] Buck DeFore reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Bluntly put, System Shock 2 is a welcome visit to the lost arts of the good old days, and an immersive experience as long as you don't mind some of the cobwebs that come along with it.

[58] Allgame found the sound design particularly effective, calling it "absolutely, teeth-clenchingly disturbing",[57] while PC Gamer's William Harms christened System Shock 2 as the most frightening game he had ever played.

[57] Along with Deus Ex, Sid Shuman of GamePro christened System Shock 2 "[one of the] twin barrels of modern [first-person shooter] innovation", owing to its complex role-playing gameplay.

[75] IGN writer Cam Shea referred to the game as "another reinvention of the FPS genre", citing the story, characters, and RPG system.

[66] The title has been inducted into a number of features listing the greatest games ever made, including ones by GameSpy,[77] Edge,[78] Empire,[79] IGN,[80] GameSpot[34] and PC Gamer.

[97] PC Gamer UK stated the team behind The Godfather: The Game (EA Redwood Shores, later Visceral, defunct 2017) was charged with its creation.

[99] He expressed optimism at the prospect of System Shock 3,[100] but revealed that EA had not shown interest in his own proposal for a sequel, and was not optimistic with regards to their abilities.

[104] In November 2015, Night Dive Studios, after acquiring the rights to the System Shock franchise, stated they were considering developing a third title in the series.

[106] The sequel will feature Terri Brosius reprising her voice for SHODAN, and will include work from original System Shock concept artist Robb Waters.

[114] At least twelve OtherSide employees working on System Shock 3, including several in lead roles, left the studio between late 2019 and early 2020.

[126] In BioShock Infinite, Irrational Games included a gameplay feature called "1999 Mode", specifically in reference to System Shock 2's release year, designed to provide a similar game experience with a higher difficulty and long-lasting effects of choices made that would remind players of System Shock's unforgiving nature.

[127][128] In 2017, Arkane Studios published Prey, which takes place on a space station named Talos I,[129] similar to System Shock.

Within the game, references are made to System Shock's developers, such as the "Looking Glass" technology that plays a significant role in the story's plot.