Firing the studio head, demoting the creative director and ordering a full rewrite will definitely foil the plans of the previously rumored 2026 release.
It's been over 10 years since the last entry of the BioShock franchise hit the screens. In 2013, players were transported from the well-known underwater city Rapture to the city in the clouds Columbia. Ever since then, we have been waiting for the next entry in the beloved franchise.
In 2019, the aptly named 2K studio Cloud Chambers – a team of experienced franchise veterans – was created with the sole purpose of working on the new BioShock. In these 6 years, there were not much news on the upcoming project, but there were rumors about a possible release in 2026. Now, 2K has pulled the brake.
2K Unimpressed By The Game
During an internal presentation of the game's state, management was not impressed at all. Especially the narrative – one of the franchise's strong suits – seemed unsatisfying. That's why 2K effectively rebooted the development process and called for a complete overhaul.
Studio head Kelley Gilmore left Cloud Chamber and creative director Hogarth de la Plante moved to a publishing role within the company. It is not yet clear who will fill their roles, but the publisher's reaction and the sudden departure of Gilmore sparked many employees' fear of possible layoffs.
2K Focuses On A Great Game
The main reason 2K brings forth regarding the changes is their expectations to deliver a great game, not just a good one.
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 leadership at the studio to define this path.
What supports these claims is that 2K even had a remake of the first BioShock in the making that they ended up shelving earlier this year. This might show the studio changing their priorities and focusing on the next installment rather than a remake. But ordering a rewrite of that scale after six years of development does pose the question: Will the game still happen?
Even if everything will go according to plan and Cloud Chambers will be able to present a new version of the narrative that convinces the publisher, it is pretty safe to say that a 2026 release seems unlikely now.
Rumors About BioShock 4
Over the years, there have been some rumors surrounding the possible setting and the narrative of BioShock 4. Supposedly, the game will be set in a 1960s Antarctic city called Borealis. This would fit right in with the franchise's unconventional places to live. The game was also rumored to have two overlapping cities with differing ideologies.
Cloud Chamber posted a job listing earlier this year which suggests that the game will have an open world instead of the previously linear ones of the franchise. More rumors talk about the possible title of the new game being BioShock: Isolation.
What's important to note is that while rumors should always be taken with a grain of salt, it is especially true with these ones. Since we don't know what kind of story Cloud Chambers presented to 2K, we also don't know how much of it is actually being rewritten. We can just hope for the best for the future of the game and Cloud Chambers.