It appears that Nightdive Studios, who is currently remaking sci-fi horror classic System Shock, has plans for the No One Lives Forever series. The cult series of first-person shooters based on '60s spy media is currently unavailable for purchase on digital stores and for modern systems. In an interview with Noclip, CEO of Nightdive Studios Steven Kick outlined plans to bring back No One Lives Forever.
When asked which game he would most like to bring back, Kick stated his fondness for No One Lives Forever. However, he highlighted the tough legal issues preventing the shooter from coming back, stating: "Its rights have just been split across the four winds." Despite this challenge, Kick is determined to bring back the adventures of Cate Archer to modern audiences, asserting: "I'm never going to stop. It'll happen one way or the other."
The No One Lives Forever series consists of three games; The Operative: No One Lives Forever, No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way, and Contract J.A.C.K.. Whilst the first two games in the series received critical acclaim, the spin-off game in Contract J.A.C.K. was not rated as highly and the series has been in legal limbo due to confusion surrounding its IP rights. While Nightdive Studios made an effort in 2014 to bring back the games by filing trademarks and acquiring the source code of the games, nothing concrete has come up yet besides occasional discussion.
If there is a developer prepared to bring back classic games, Nightdive Studios is the genuine article. Most recently, Nightdive Studios released a trailer for Shadowman Remastered, a remastering of the N64 classic. The Vancouver, Washington company is renowned for its work in obtaining the rights to classic abandonware games, updating them for modern systems, and re-releasing them on digital storefronts. Doom 64 was also remastered by Nightdive Studios and was regarded as a faithful remastering that serves Doom fans well.
In the meantime, the System Shock remake is going along smoothly and should renew interest in one of gaming's most storied franchises. Although there are doubts surrounding the long-awaited third entry due to its long development time so far, it appears that System Shock 3 is still in active development which comes as good news to fans of the long-dormant series. Considering that the Chinese conglomerate Tencent now holds the rights to System Shock, it is indicated that the series name still holds some value to modern audiences.