Bad signs for Bioshock 4: Publisher 2K was apparently not impressed by an internal demo of the sequel. This now has consequences for the team.
Bioshock fans are not having an easy time at the moment: no new installment of the acclaimed shooter series has been released for over ten years; the last spin-off, Infinite, dates back to 2013. And as has now been announced, fans will probably have to wait a little longer.
Although publisher and rights holder 2K Games announced at the end of 2019 that it had commissioned studio Cloud Chamber to work on a new Bioshock, there has been no news about the project since then. As reported by well-informed industry insider Jason Schreier, among others, the game now faces an uncertain future.
Internal tests apparently failed to convince the management team at publisher 2K Games. As a result, the management team at developer Cloud Chamber is now being replaced.
Anonymous sources who spoke to Jason Schreier in his report for Bloomberg said that the game’s storyline in particular was identified as an area in need of improvement and will be reworked in the coming months
.
Lead developer Kelley Gilmore was subsequently dismissed and replaced by former creative director Hogarth de la Plante. The rest of the team at Cloud Chamber was informed in an internal meeting that the studio needed to become more agile and efficient
. According to Bloomberg, several employees fear that these statements mean they will soon be laid off.
In response to the report, a spokesperson for 2K Games confirmed the change in leadership at the studio to Bloomberg. At the same time, however, they remain fully committed to delivering a BioShock game that exceeds the high expectations of fans. The publisher added:
We are working hard to set BioShock up for the best possible future. We have a good game right now, but we are determined to deliver a great game. We are working closely with the studio leadership to define that path forward.
However, this best possible future seems anything but rosy, as 2K Games also confirmed to Bloomberg that a few months ago, it decided to discontinue the already started development of a remake of the first Bioshock game in the series. The publisher did not give any reasons for this decision.
The first three installments of the Bioshock series were commercially very successful, selling over 43 million copies; however, series creator Ken Levine did not want to develop another installment after Bioshock: Infinite due to high personal pressure and subsequently drastically downsized his studio Irrational Games.
However, according to reports by Eurogamer, a Netflix series based on the franchise is currently in the works. However, it will only be produced on a small budget and is not intended to be a big blockbuster.
What do you think of the new developments in the Bioshock universe? Are you looking forward to a fourth installment of the shooter series? Let us know in the comments!