A double dose of bad news for BioShock fans as what’s supposed to be the highly anticipated next entry in the critically acclaimed series, BioShock 4, is in trouble. Per Bloomberg, an internal review by Take-Two’s publisher 2K Games, identified major issues with BioShock 4’s narrative and pushed for it to be revised. After the release of said report, a 2K spokesperson put out a statement indicating that two major changes occurred at Cloud Chamber studios.
Studio head Kelley Gilmore has left the studio and the creative director Hogarth de la Plante has moved to a publishing role within the company. De la Plante in particular is more notable because he worked on the first BioShock in multiple capacities. This news most certainly means that BioShock 4 is in a bit of “development hell,” but in the same statement 2K Games wants to ensure BioShock 4 is a great game.
Right now, we have a good game, but we are committed to delivering a great one. We are working closely with leadership at the studio to define this path… we are fully committed to ensuring we deliver a BioShock game that exceeds the lofty expectations of our fans.
What’s Next for BioShock 4
Although these statements look promising, something more concerning coming from the same Bloomberg article is that a recent all-hands meeting at Cloud Chamber studio resulted in developers being told the dreaded “becoming more agile and efficient.” Leading many to think that layoffs could be coming as well.
BioShock 4 has been in development since at least 2019 when 2K announced the game was in the works that December.
Sadly the same article also revealed that a long rumored original BioShock remake was canceled earlier this year by 2K Games as well.
If you are interested in playing the series, the Bioshock Collection, which includes BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite all in one package is available on all platforms and usually on sale quite often.
