Take-Two Interactive has laid off around 30% of staff at Cloud Chamber, the studio behind the next BioShock game, reports state.
Already a decade into development, the next BioShock game was due to be released in late 2026 or early 2027, but it will be delayed further, with the decision made to give the game more time in development.
More than 80 jobs were cut in the changes, with the studio said to have around 250 employees before the layoffs, representing a huge portion of the workforce.
1/3 of BioShock Studio Axed
The details are shared by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, which includes an email sent to staff by 2K President David Ismailer that states a decision was made to “rework certain aspects that are core to a BioShock game.”
This resulted in “reducing the size of the development team to focus on this work and give the game more time in development,” although BioShock is already one of the longest-running productions in gaming history.
Plans for the next BioShock instalment began in 2014, the year after the release of BioShock Infinite, though there were significant changes as Irrational Games, originally at the helm, was shattered by 2K after director Ken Levine left to start a smaller studio within Take-Two.
The report from Bloomberg says the trouble didn’t end there, with Certain Affinity taking the reins and working on the game for roughly two years, and a deal to acquire the studio fell through. Take-Two then decided to start an in-house studio to lead development, hiring in 2017 for what would become Cloud Chamber.
It’s not clear what the plan is now for the next BioShock game, though it’s clear that there won’t be a release window anytime soon, as the long wait will rumble on.
What are your thoughts about the long wait for a new entry in the BioShock series? Let us know in the Insider Gaming forum.
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