Do it for Shacknews Award 2023 - Nightdive Studios

Nightdive Studios had a solid year, so much so that it could be argued Nightdive should be included in the Best Developer conversation in 2023, such an insanely stacked year as this is. The studio cranked out remastered and remakes left and right, having itself a busy and exciting year. It takes more than making good games to Do it for Shacknews, though. No, we not only appreciate the games Nightdive released, but the passion they put into the community and our work with them.

Shacknews owes a lot of gaming guilty pleasures to Nightdive. As originally a Quake fan site and massive lovers of old-school FPS, how could we not like Nightdive’s 2023 remaster catalogue? They hit Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, Quake 2, and Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion this year, all up our alley. They also did the System Shock Remake, which we hugely loved for its modernization of various visuals and controls while still keeping the original’s somewhat archaic and less hand-holdy nature intact. Nightdive has always been tireless enthusiasts of game preservation, but this year was something else.

And then there’s just the passion of its leadership and developers. Larry Kuperman is a peach, and a bright light in the business. He’s the first guy to let you know he read your feature and his thoughts on it, as well as sharing any updates he may have, often before you’ve even emailed him about it. He shares that same enthusiasm with the community, answering questions and engaging where he can on social media.

Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick has made time for Shacknews at numerous opportunities in the past, sitting down to let us know what the studio is up to and what’s coming next, as well as sharing constant enthusiasm for what’s ahead. He’s truly passionate about the preservation of games inside and outside our interviews, in his business on Nightdive, and out there on the internet. Few studios care about pouring so much effort into the polish and preservation of older titles as opposed to making new things. It’s clear at every juncture that nearly everything Kick touches is a passion project.

We couldn’t thank Nightdive Studios enough for the opportunities it’s given us to cover its latest projects throughout the years, and we extend out thanks past Kuperman and Kick to the entire Nightdive team that pours their efforts into revitalizing some of our favorite games. This year felt truly special when we looked at what the studio has done. But it isn’t just about Shacknews. Nightdive is doing it for all gamers out there that want to boot up Turok, Quake, Blade Runner, and other games on current console and PC hardware. For all of these reasons and more, they are our Do it For Shacknews 2023 award winners.

Be sure to read over the rest of the Shacknews Awards in our Year of the Games: 2023 feature.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.