System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Edition (formerly titled System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition) will be arriving on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch on June 26, courtesy of Nightdive Studios. Announced at the Future Game Show Spring Showcase, the 25th Anniversary Edition brings a fresh coat of paint to the classic 1999 sci-fi horror game and will be the first classic System Shock title playable on consoles.
This effort isn’t nearly as extensive as the excellent System Shock from 2023, but System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Edition still features a massive graphics overhaul with updated textures and ultrawide support, in addition to new audio recordings and a litany of quality-of-life improvements to make the game more palatable for modern audiences. Nightdive took a similar approach to its Enhanced Edition of the original System Shock, turning the previously obtuse title into what many consider the ideal way to play the 1994 game.
Over the past 25 years, System Shock 2 has received a remarkable amount of community support in the form of patches, higher-resolution textures, and other fixes. These mods offer an excellent version of System Shock 2, but the process of getting everything running properly makes the experience relatively hostile to new players. The 25th Anniversary Edition integrates many of these improvements while optimizing aspects of System Shock 2 that haven’t been touched since 1999. System Shock 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and I’m excited for a new generation of players to experience the maiden voyage of the Von Braun when the game comes out in June.
