A prominent leaker reports that BioShock 4 may be having problems internally, causing it to be stuck in development hell for a while now.
BioShock 4, the much-awaited sequel in the BioShock franchise, is reportedly in development hell. Developer Cloud Chamber and publisher 2K Games have kept a tight lip about the game’s story and release date, leaving players with just rumors on what to expect in BioShock 4.
According to various sources, BioShock 4 is said to be an open-world game set Borealis, a city located in the Antarctic. There’s still no confirmation on whether the fourth installation will be set in the same timeline as the first three BioShock games, and if the main character will still be given the power of plasmids or vigors.
Apart from the possible gameplay details of BioShock 4, there had been many rumors swirling that the narrative team, led by former Far Cry 5 writer Liz Albl, was reportedly doing multiple rewrites for the script. According to a Twitter thread by prominent leaker Oops Leaks, BioShock 4 was reportedly being delayed because the studio was facing various struggles, citing reasons like the game being rebooted for a fourth time last year, issues with management, and alleged uncertainty in financial success, among many others. The leaker said that, at this point, BioShock 4 would be stuck in development hell unless these problems were resolved. They also predicted that if 2K Games and Cloud Chamber don’t announce the game this summer, there would be “zero chances” of it being released in 2025 as initially planned.
The new Bioshock is in development hell.
— Oops Leaks (@oopsleaks) May 18, 2023
Despite a complete change in development leadership, the Bioshock series is still haunted by the curse of problematic development. No game details will be described here, and this is likely to be my final report on the next Bioshock. pic.twitter.com/5oppXBsbns
Many BioShock fans expressed their disappointment with the fourth installment’s status, with a number of them saying that the franchise went downhill after BioShock creator Ken Levine left the development team following the shutdown of Irrational Games. Some also said that BioShock 4 should just be given to another studio, and also called on 2K Games to bring Levine back on board. However, there were still gamers that seemed hopeful that BioShock 4 will be completed in the future.
Contrary to popular demand though, it might be impossible for Levine to work on BioShock 4 because he’s now the head of Ghost Story Games, the studio behind his upcoming FPS game Judas, which seemed to borrow some elements from BioShock. First revealed during last year’s Game Awards, it’s expected to release sometime in 2025, the same year as BioShock 4‘s rumored release date. Many players who followed Levine’s work seemed pretty excited about Judas when they first saw the trailer, and hopefully, BioShock 4 will get the same reception once it’s revealed.
BioShock 4 is in development.
