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Nightdive Studios

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Night Dive Studios, Inc.
Nightdive Studios
FormerlyNight Dive Studios, LLC (2012–2019)[1]
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedNovember 7, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-11-07) in Portland, Oregon, US
Founders
  • Stephen Kick
  • Alix Kick
Headquarters
Vancouver, Washington
,
US
Key people
Number of employees
40 (2022)
ParentAtari SA (2023–present)
Websitenightdivestudios.com

Night Dive Studios, Inc. (trade name: Nightdive Studios) is an American video game developer based in Vancouver, Washington and a subsidiary of Atari SA. The company is known for obtaining rights to abandonware video games, updating them for compatibility with modern platforms, and re-releasing them via digital distribution services, supporting preservation of older games. Many of the company's releases use the internally developed KEX Engine.

Nightdive Studios was founded in November 2012 by Stephen and Alix Kick, former video game artists for Sony Online Entertainment, after Stephen Kick was unable to purchase a copy of the 1999 game System Shock 2. He negotiated with the rightsholder Star Insurance Company, which had acquired System Shock and other assets from the defunct developer Looking Glass Studios, and Nightdive Studios re-released the game via GOG.com in February 2013. The company was acquired by Atari SA in May 2023.

History

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Founding and System Shock 2 (2012–2013)

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Nightdive Studios was founded by Stephen Kick and his wife, Alix Kick (née Banegas), both former character artists at Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).[2][3] Kick was with Sony for three years, working on Free Realms and PlanetSide 2.[4] While Banegas had left the company earlier to establish a plushie business, Kick remained in his position until 2012.[2][4] After also quitting his job, he and Banegas, then his fiancée, commenced a nine-month-long road trip from San Diego through Mexico and Central America.[3][4] To pass the time during this trip, Kick brought a netbook and several classic video games to play.[3] While staying in a hostel in Guatemala, he wished to play the 1999 game System Shock 2 but found that the CD-ROM version he had brought no longer worked on his netbook.[2][3] Kick looked for fan-made patches for the game and tried purchasing an updated version via GOG.com to no avail, and he discovered that there no longer was a legal way to obtain the game.[2][5] The rights to the System Shock franchise had been acquired from its defunct developer, Looking Glass Studios, by Star Insurance Company (a subsidiary of Meadowbrook Insurance Group), while the trademark was retained by the game's publisher, Electronic Arts.[6]

Starting in October 2012, Kick sent various emails to Star Insurance Company to inquire about the status of the series' intellectual property (IP).[3][7] To his surprise, the company's legal counsel responded within a few days, asking Kick what he was planning to do with the IP.[2][3] Star Insurance Company had recently acquired the System Shock trademark from Electronic Arts but was wary of producing a new entry in the series given the high cost associated with such a production.[2][3] Kick pitched the idea of updating System Shock 2 for modern platforms and re-releasing it via digital distribution services, including GOG.com and Steam.[3] He argued that the game was highly sought after, as over 34,000 people had placed it onto their GOG.com wishlists, and that a re-release would be profitable.[2][7] The insurer was fond of this idea, so Kick and Banegas, who had then almost reached the Panama Canal, returned to the United States.[3][4] Arriving in New Mexico, Kick began phoning with Star Insurance Company's legal counsel and eventually reached a deal.[4] He raised money from his friends and family to pay the license fee for System Shock 2 and establish a company.[2][4] Subsequently, Kick and Banegas founded Night Dive Studios on November 7, 2012.[5][8] Kick assumed the role of chief executive officer (CEO), while Banegas became the chief financial officer.[3] The company name was inspired by their shared passion for diving, especially night diving, and Kick specifically recalled one night dive he had experienced in the Great Barrier Reef.[2][3] Night Dive Studios was initially located in Portland, Oregon, later moving to nearby Vancouver, Washington.[9]

Around the time of the company's foundation, a French developer known as Le Corbeau released a patch for System Shock 2 that allowed it to run on modern computers. Kick was unsuccessful in contacting the developer but still used the patch as the new version's groundwork, asserting that it was the IP holder's legal right to use it.[3] Night Dive Studios worked with Kick's former SOE colleagues and GOG.com on updates and further bugs fixes.[3][9] The updated version was released onto GOG.com in February 2013.[7] According to Banegas, the game's returns in its first month painted Night Dive Studios as a viable business.[2] Kick decided to continue Night Dive Studios in similar efforts to bring back older games to modern systems.[5] The company's first hire was Daniel Grayshon, a writer of System Shock modding guides based in the United Kingdom.[10] Night Dive Studios brought System Shock 2 to Steam in May 2013.[11] Later that year, it released updated versions of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Harlan Ellison's 1995 game based on his eponymous short story;[12] Wizardry VI, VII, and 8;[13] and the Trilobyte games The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour.[14]

Subsequent projects (2013–present)

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In 2014, Night Dive Studios re-released 28 edutainment games from Humongous Entertainment,[15] as well as the adventure game Bad Mojo.[16] The company also generated speculation that it might be planning to re-release The Operative: No One Lives Forever, as news sources took notice of a Night Dive Studios trademark filing that included material referencing the No One Lives Forever franchise.[17] Kick responded to these rumors by saying that the company could not comment on future releases for the time being.[18] Kick later revealed that they had indeed been working on trying to acquire the publishing rights for both No One Lives Forever and its sequel, to the point where they had the original source code to construct a remake of the title, but could not get the three companies with stake in the games' IP, Activision, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros., to negotiate the rights.[19]

In December 2014, Night Dive Studios coordinated the re-release of the 1996 first-person shooter role playing hybrid game Strife as Strife: Veteran Edition, after acquiring rights to the game. Because the game's source code had been lost, a derivative of the Chocolate Doom subproject Chocolate Strife was used as the game's engine, with its original programmers being contracted to do additional coding for the re-release. The source code of Strife: Veteran Edition was made available under a GPLv3 license on GitHub on December 12, 2014.[20] While this was the first source code opened for a Night Dive Studios release, Kick announced his commitment in recovering, preserving and also opening of more source code in a Reddit AMA in 2016.[21] In February 2015, Kick announced that the studio was working on re-releasing PowerSlave for digital distribution services with the bonus of porting the Sega Saturn version into the package. Kick also announced that he was working with the original developers of Noctropolis and the original source code and the updated package will feature remastered music, widescreen support and bug fixes.[21]

Using the funds generated by past releases, Night Dive Studios acquired the System Shock IP from Star Insurance Company in August 2015, intending to create a remake of the first System Shock.[2][3] The company released an enhanced version of the original game, which adds support for more resolutions and mouselook, in September that year. Night Dive Studios has since announced it has acquired full rights to the System Shock series, and are considering developing a third title in the series, as well as remakes for both previous titles, working with original concept artist Robert Waters for some of the design.[3] In August 2015, Night Dive announced it was working on remasters for Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil.[22] The first game was released in 2015, followed by the sequel in 2017.[23][24] In December 2015, the company had licensed the System Shock IP to OtherSide Entertainment, headed by former Looking Glass Studios creative director Paul Neurath, for the development of System Shock 3.[2] In May 2016, Night Dive Studios rebranded as Nightdive Studios.[25]

Acquisition by Atari (2023–present)

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In March 2023, Atari SA announced that it had agreed to acquire Nightdive Studios for US$10 million. The price is to be paid half in cash and half in newly issued ordinary shares, with a possible earnout of $10 million in cash over three years. Wade Rosen, Atari's CEO and chairman, had previously bought 13% of Nightdive Studios under his company Wade J. Rosen Revocable Trust. Atari expected the acquisition to be completed in April 2023.[26] It was finalized on May 15.[27]

Nightdive released a remaster of Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion in November 2023.[28] The game's original source code had been lost, so the developers had to reverse engineer the N64 version and update the textures.[29][30] Initially due to be released on November 14, Turok 3 was delayed to November 30 shortly before the intended release.[31] Despite the announced delay, the game went live in Europe and Australia on the 14th by mistake.[32][33]

Operations

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Nightdive Studios is headquartered out of the Kicks' house in eastern Vancouver, Washington.[2][3] As of February 2022, the company employs 40 people, including Larry Kuperman as the director of business development.[3][10] Most staff work remotely, with locations including San Francisco and New Zealand.[2][5] According to Kick, this distribution allows the studio to operate "on pretty much a 24/7 basis", while employees collaborate via GitHub, Jira, and Slack. However, he noted that this setup also caused a lack of in-office socializing and camaraderie.[5]

Technology

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While researching for the development of an updated version of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Nightdive Studios became aware of a reverse engineering project of the game's Nintendo 64 version by Sam "Kaiser" Villarreal. The company hired him and developed his custom game engine into the KEX Engine, allowing the developers to add modern features to older games.[10] Aside from Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, the engine has been used for the company's Turok 2: Seeds of Evil,[34] Forsaken Remastered,[35] System Shock: Enhanced Edition (via a 2018 update),[36] Blood: Fresh Supply,[37] Doom 64,[38] Quake,[39] Shadow Man Remastered,[40] PowerSlave Exhumed,[41] Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition,[42] Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition,[43] Quake II,[44] Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered,[45] and Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster,[46] PO'ed: Definitive Edition,[47] and Doom + Doom II,[48] as well as the upcoming SiN Reloaded[49] and System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition.[50] Villarreal remains Nightdive Studios' lead engine developer as of February 2022.[10]

Games

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Original releases

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Year Title Developer(s) Publisher(s)
2015 Spirits of Xanadu Good Morning, Commander Nightdive Studios
2016 Womb Room Bearded Eye Nightdive Studios
2023 System Shock Nightdive Studios Prime Matter
2024 Doom II: Legacy of Rust id Software, Nightdive Studios, MachineGames Bethesda Softworks

Remasters and enhanced ports

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Year Title Original developer(s) Publisher(s)
2014 Strife: Veteran Edition Rogue Entertainment Nightdive Studios
2015 Noctropolis Flashpoint Productions Nightdive Studios
System Shock: Enhanced Edition LookingGlass Technologies Nightdive Studios
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Iguana Entertainment Nightdive Studios
2017 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil Iguana Entertainment Nightdive Studios
2018 Forsaken Remastered Probe Entertainment Nightdive Studios
2019 Blood: Fresh Supply Monolith Productions Nightdive Studios, Atari
2020 Doom 64 Midway Studios San Diego Bethesda Softworks
2021 Shadow Man Remastered Acclaim Studios Teesside Nightdive Studios
Quake id Software Bethesda Softworks
2022 PowerSlave Exhumed Lobotomy Software Nightdive Studios, Throwback Entertainment
Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition Westwood Studios Nightdive Studios
2023 Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition Apogee Software New Blood Interactive, Apogee Entertainment, Nightdive Studios
Quake II id Software Bethesda Softworks
Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered Acclaim Studios Austin Nightdive Studios
2024 Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster LucasArts Nightdive Studios
PO'ed: Definitive Edition Any Channel Nightdive Studios
Doom + Doom II id Software Bethesda Softworks
Killing Time: Resurrected The 3DO Company Nightdive Studios, Ziggurat Interactive
TBA The Thing: Remastered Computer Artworks Nightdive Studios
SiN Reloaded Ritual Entertainment Nightdive Studios, 3D Realms
System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios Nightdive Studios

References

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  1. ^ Kick, Stephen (June 28, 2019). "Articles of Conversion of Night Dive Studios, LLC Into Night Dive Studios, Inc" – via Corporations and Charities Filing System.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gwaltney, Javy (March 19, 2019). "This is How System Shock Came Back From The Dead". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Newman, Jared (November 9, 2015). "How One Company Is Bringing Old Video Games Back From The Dead". Fast Company. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Coleman, Ben (February 25, 2015). "Ghosts of Games Past". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Nightdive turns games of the past into a bright future...virtually". VentureBeat. April 25, 2017. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  6. ^ Newman, Jared (May 30, 2011). "The Lost History of System Shock". G4. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Smith, Adam (February 13, 2013). "Many Questions: System Shock 2 Comes To GOG". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Nightdive Studios [@NightdiveStudio] (November 7, 2017). "Today is the 5th Anniversary of Nightdive Studios! Let's celebrate with a sale, all titles up to 80%off on #Steam" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ a b Good, Nolan (January 12, 2021). "How a Local Company Is Saving Forgotten Video Games From the Dustbin of History". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d Dring, Christopher (February 10, 2022). "Nightdive Studios: "If we want to say games is an art form, then we have to respect our past"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  11. ^ Carlson, Patrick (May 11, 2013). "System Shock 2 arrives on Steam". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  12. ^ Carlson, Patrick (September 6, 2013). "Classic horror game I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream finds release on GOG". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  13. ^ Walker, John (September 11, 2013). "Wizard! Wizardry VI, VII, and 8 Are Now For Sale On Steam". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  14. ^ Conditt, Jessica (October 24, 2013). "The 7th Guest, 11th Hour bundle up for safety on Steam". Engadget. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Cowan, Danny (April 22, 2014). "Putt-Putt, Spy Fox join Humongous Entertainment's Steam catalog". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  16. ^ "Release: Bad Mojo Redux". GOG.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  17. ^ Sarkar, Samit (May 1, 2014). "New trademarks filed for No One Lives Forever games". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  18. ^ Tyrrel, Brandin (May 1, 2014). "No One Lives Forever Resurfaces Through Trademark Filings". IGN. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  19. ^ Hamilton, Kirk (February 27, 2015). "The Sad Story Behind A Dead PC Game That Can't Come Back". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  20. ^ Villarreal, Samuel (December 12, 2014). "Strife Veteran Edition GPL Source Release". GitHub. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  21. ^ a b Kick, Stephen (June 22, 2016). "IamA Founder of Night Dive Studios, Stephen Kick – We track down and restore classic video games! AMA!". Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2016 – via Reddit.
  22. ^ Makuch, Eddie (August 26, 2015). "Dino Games Turok and Turok 2 Getting PC Remasters With "Enhanced Graphics"". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Erfanian, Sasha (December 15, 2015). "Turok Remastered is Coming in December". IGN. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  24. ^ Donnelly, Joe (March 1, 2017). "Turok 2 remaster release date confirmed, trailer flaunts dino-blasting nostalgia". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  25. ^ Nightdive Studios (May 6, 2016). "Check out the new ND fresh look!". Archived from the original on December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018 – via Facebook.
  26. ^ "Atari enters into an agreement to acquire Night Dive Studios and announces its intention to proceed with the issuance of €30 M bonds convertible into new Atari shares" (Press release). Atari SA. March 22, 2023. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023 – via Yahoo! Finance.
  27. ^ "Atari Closes the Acquisition of Nightdive Studios" (Press release). Atari SA. May 15, 2023. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023 – via GlobeNewswire.
  28. ^ Romano, Sal (August 23, 2023). "Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on November 14". Gematsu. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  29. ^ Handley, Zoey (December 12, 2023). "Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion comparison shows the care that went into Nightdive's remaster". Destructoid. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  30. ^ Wales, Matt (August 23, 2023). "Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion is getting a Nightdive remaster this November". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  31. ^ Reynolds, Ollie (November 10, 2023). "The Turok 3 Remaster On Switch Has Been Subject To A Short Delay". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  32. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 15, 2023). "Turok 3 Remastered Sees Unintended Early Release on Nintendo Switch That Contains Several Major Bugs". IGN. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  33. ^ Doolan, Liam (November 15, 2023). "Turok 3's Remaster Has Accidentally Released Early In Select Regions". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on July 6, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  34. ^ O'Connor, Alice (February 28, 2017). "Stomp-o! Turok 2 remaster coming in March". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  35. ^ Good, Owen S. (July 24, 2018). "Forsaken is the latest '90s classic being remastered by Nightdive Studios". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  36. ^ Tarason, Dominic (September 7, 2018). "System Shock: Enhanced Edition now looks sharper and controls better than ever". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  37. ^ "How Nightdive Studios resurrected the classic FPS Blood for Blood: Fresh Supply". VentureBeat. July 12, 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  38. ^ Olson, Matthew (March 9, 2020). "Exclusive: Doom 64 Devs Reveal the Port Will Include a Brand New Chapter". USgamer. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  39. ^ Zwiezen, Zack (August 19, 2021). "Surprise: Legendary FPS Quake Just Got Remastered On Every Platform". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  40. ^ Wright, Steven T. (March 18, 2020). "N64 Cult Classic Shadow Man Is Getting Remastered". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  41. ^ Doolan, Liam (January 29, 2022). "Nightdive Brings '90s FPS PowerSlave Exhumed To Switch This February". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  42. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (October 24, 2020). "Replicating Blade Runner: why the adventure game classic is so tough to remaster". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  43. ^ Boudreau, Ian (September 16, 2022). "Rise of the Triad returns, thanks to a boomer shooter super group". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  44. ^ Linneman, John (August 19, 2023). "Quake 2 2023 tech review: this is how to remaster a game". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  45. ^ Scullion, Chris (August 23, 2023). "Turok 3 is getting a 4K remaster". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  46. ^ Purdy, Kevin (August 23, 2023). "Dark Forces: Remaster gives you a cleaned-up 4K view of an absolute classic". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on August 30, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  47. ^ Zwiezen, Zack (May 30, 2024). "The Story Behind PO'ed, 2024's Weirdest Remaster". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  48. ^ Prudy, Kevin (August 9, 2024). "Doom + Doom II is a great excuse to jump back into Hell, for free or for $10". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  49. ^ Romano, Sal (September 6, 2020). "SiN: Reloaded announced for PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  50. ^ Blake, Vikki (January 23, 2021). "System Shock pre-orders go live next month, and will include the game's "final demo"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
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