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Jason Schreier from Bloomberg reports that the upcoming BioShock game, currently known as BioShock 4, has faced significant challenges during development. Recently, it failed a review with Take-Two and 2K leadership, leading to major narrative changes and the removal of two creative leaders at Cloud Chamber, one of the developers working on the project.
The report also mentions that a remake of the first BioShock game was in the works before being “shelved” earlier this year.
Kelley Gilmore, who previously served as studio head at Cloud Chamber, was reassigned to a publishing role. Similarly, Hogarth de la Plante, creative director at Cloud Chamber, now holds a position on the publishing side.
2K reportedly told Cloud Chamber’s staff that they need to become “more agile and efficient,” which has raised concerns among employees about potential layoffs.
In response to these developments, 2K Games stated, “We are working hard to set BioShock up for its best possible future. 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.” The company also confirmed the role changes for Gilmore and de la Plante.
BioShock 4 has been in development since at least 2015 or possibly earlier, according to Schreier’s prior reporting that Certain Affinity had been working on it. We officially learned of its existence in 2019 when Cloud Chamber was announced as the developer. In 2023, claims emerged that the game had undergone a second internal reboot after an initial reboot in 2018.
The lack of any concrete information for over a decade suggests development challenges, as 2K and Take-Two would likely be promoting it if it were nearing release. Today’s report indicates that Take-Two is not yet convinced BioShock 4 is at the right stage.
While there can be differences between executive vision and developer reality, it’s possible this failure stems from executives not believing the current path will maximize sales potential. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean the game isn’t great in its current state.
Regardless, we’ll likely have to continue waiting to see what happens with BioShock 4. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait.
📚 Reading Comprehension Quiz
What significant change occurred with the upcoming BioShock game, currently known as BioShock 4, during its development process?
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