As if the hype surrounding System Shock 3‘s recent announcement couldn’t get any hotter, it seems that with the hiring of industry veteran Warren Spector, Otherside Entertainment has further sweetened the deal by setting him up with his own office in Austin. The new “Otherside Austin” office will, presumably for now, be devoted to the development of System Shock 3 and give Spector room enough to oversee the project without any inconveniences.
Warren Spector was a huge part of the Texas gaming scene in the 90s and early 2000’s, having worked with Ion Storm and eventually forming the Austin-based branch of that company. With Ion Storm Austin, Spector created the critically acclaimed Deus Ex, and later, brought in most of the former Looking Glass team to create Thief: Deadly Shadows.
No doubt Otherside Entertainment is looking to recapture some of that fabled “Austin magic” by setting Spector up with his own office in a place where he feels most comfortable. A tweet by the legend himself seems to indicate that he’s excited to get started, urging potential new hires to get their resumes ready.
The only question is where a relatively small, indie studio like Otherside Entertainment gained the money to open up a new office. Word is they are still looking into crowdfunding, so we could be seeing Paul Neurath & crew come back to Kickstarter for another round some time soon. Either way, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on any new developments.