So here’s some big news: Warren Spector has evidently left his academic post, and has instead signed on with OtherSide Entertainment to work on both Underworld Ascendant and System Shock 3:

Warren Spector is a full-time game developer once again. OtherSide Entertainment today announced that the veteran developer best known for his work on games like Deus Ex and Epic Mickey will be leaving his academic appointment at the University of Texas at Austin to join OtherSide on a full-time basis as a studio director.

“I’ve loved working with students as Director of the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy in the University of Texas’ Moody College of Communication,” Spector said. “But when the opportunity to have a bigger role in bringing Underworld Ascendant to life, as well as playing in the System Shock universe once again, helping to bring these games to a 21st century audience, I just couldn’t say no. Working on System Shock was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done in my career and it’s hard to describe how much I’m looking forward to sharing with players what SHODAN has been up to since the last game was released.”

I dare say that this is really exciting news.

The First Age of Update: OtherSide have released their own official announcement of Warren Spector’s signing on. And there’s an interesting tidbit therein concerning the development of System Shock 3:

Efforts on System Shock 3 will accelerate this year under Warren’s direction, while OtherSide continues working on Underworld Ascendant, the successor to the Ultima Underworld series.

Everyone at OtherSide is excited to add Warren to the team and System Shock 3 as the second title in the company’s growing stable of games.

Fans can register on the System Shock 3 teaser site to receive updates about the game as they become available.

Now, that is exciting.