The game, which was reported to be in development since as early as 2015 has seen multiple reboots since it was originally conceived.
Based on recent revelations, Bioshock 4’s lead development team has found itself in troubled waters after a recent internal review at 2K Games flagged significant issues, prompting a major overhaul of the project alongside leadership changes.
According to a Bloomberg report by Jason Schreier, BioShock 4 has been stuck in development limbo for over a decade, as the last installment in the franchise, BioShock Infinite, was released in 2013.
The internal review by Take-Two Interactive’s subsidiary 2K Games flagged the project’s narrative as a critical weak point for the upcoming title. BioShock’s legacy has been built on a strong narrative-driven experience, as seen in the original’s underwater Rapture setting and Infinite’s floating city-state of Columbia.
The franchise has set a monumental bar for storytelling. Amid the faltering progression, 2K Games ousted Cloud Chamber Studio Head Kelley Gilmore, who previously worked on Civilization and XCOM. Moreover, 2K reassigned creative director Hogarth De La Plante, who worked on BioShock 2, to a publishing role.
2K Games, in an official statement to Bloomberg, stated:
“We are working hard to set BioShock up for the best possible future. Right now, we have a good game, but we are committed to delivering a great one. We are working closely with the leadership at the studio to define this path.”
Following the shift in leadership, 2K announced an all-hands meeting where Cloud Chamber staff were told to be “more agile and efficient,” a statement that doesn’t inspire much hope for the future of the employees at the studio. This has led to speculation that 2K Games may be setting the stage to lay off staff at Cloud Chamber in the future.
Cloud Chamber, the California and Montreal-based studio, was specifically established in 2019 for developing BioShock 4. The studio consists of industry veterans like art director Scott Sinclair and design director Jonathan Pelling on board.
Despite their experience in the industry, BioShock 4 has been marred by multiple reboots. Rumors suggest that the game was in the works as early as 2015 under studio Certain Affinity. Prior job listings hinted that BioShock 4 would feature an open-world setting, moving away from the linear levels of Rapture and Columbia.
Reports as early as 2019 note that the game would be set in a 1960s Antarctic City, Borealis. This info was further corroborated by Colin Moriarty in 2021, who stated the project was codenamed Parkside.
Bioshock 4 is speculated to release beyond the rumored 2028 launch window. Moreover, Ken Levine, BioShock’s creator and lead writer on BioShock: Infinite and its Burial at Sea DLC, is not involved in the project’s development and is currently working on a standalone new project, Judas.
With Ken Levine calling BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea his closing chapter, internal struggles in BioShock 4’s narrative vision, and no firm release timeline, it’s uncertain whether we’ll see the project toward the end of 2028. For now, 2K Games seems committed to ensuring BioShock 4 meets its high storytelling standards, in line with BioShock’s critically acclaimed legacy, but patience could be wearing thin in a trying macro environment for game development in 2025.
Rahim Amir Noorali – Tech Writer – 121 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025
I am a UAE-based tech writer who likes to build and benchmark PCs both professionally and as a hobby. I contribute to multiple tech publications, including TechRadar and NotebookCheck, as well as Game Rant, where I focus primarily on news, commerce, and buying guides. When I’m not scouring the internet for the latest in tech stories, you will find me playing a game of Civilization or DotA with friends and frenemies alike while dropping recommendations for Apple TV+’s Foundation to everyone I come across.
