A big part of gaming’s best year, theBioShockfranchise debuted all the way back in 2007, and it made quite the impact. Taking the lessons he’d learned fromSystem Shock,Ken Levine led his team at Irrational Gamesin creating one of the most atmospheric horror games ever made, with a plot twist that’s still talked about today. ThoughBioShock 2isn’t quite as fondly remembered, it’s still a solid title that leans closer to the series' action elements, andBioShock Infinitereceived monumental praise at launch for its setting, gameplay, and intriguingly complex story. But theBioShockseries has been on quite the hiatus.
BioShock Infinitehit store shelves in March 2013, making it almost ten whole years since the series' last release. And even if fans want to countthe remasteredBioShock: The Collection, it’s been almost seven years since fans have seenBioShockcontent of any kind. But that doesn’t mean the franchise is dead in the water. Back in 2019, a fourthBioShockgame was officially confirmed to be in development, and if fans are lucky, they may hear more about it in 2023.
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BioShock 4 Could Finally Be Revealed This Year
Back in 2019, a Tweet from the official 2K account formally announced that a newBioShockgame was now in development, and that it would take “several years” before it was ready to be released. While fans have lovingly dubbed it “BioShock 4” the official title of the game has not been confirmed, though it’ll likely be something similar to the last entry in the series, being “BioShock” then followed by a subtitle. It has been confirmed that this game will be a full fourth entry in the franchise, and not a spin-off, presumably carrying overthe series' iconic steampunk, art deco-inspired visualsand darker contemplative themes.
In September 2021, thenow-infamous Nvidia leaksurfaced on the internet. For those unaware, this leak included a list of countless games, all supposedly set to release within the next few years. While the authenticity of this list is still being debated even all these years later, there have been some projects included in the leak that have since been confirmed, includingKingdom Hearts 4andGod of Waron PC among a good few others.BioShock 4was also included in this list, with a scheduled release date of 2022. This obviously didn’t happen, and while fans shouldn’t read into it too much, this could suggest some development issues. According to a leak by Sacred Symbols' Colin Moriarty back in December 2021,BioShock 4will be set in a brand-new dystopian city, possibly in the Antarctic during the 1960s.
In February 2022, a bigBioShock 4leak came to light. This leak suggested that 2K was unhappy withBioShock 4’s development, stating that the relatively new developer Cloud Chamber was taking too long and the final results weren’t of a high enough quality. It was also rumored thatBioShock 4’s developer lost around 40 employees, including some members of the game’s leadership team, apparently delaying the project quite a bit. Of course, this is all speculation, but it would explain why fans haven’t even seen anything fromBioShock 4yet. 2023 could finally be the year thatBioShock 4is fully revealed in all its glory.
BioShock 4 Might Have to Compete With Ken Levine’s Judas
Having not seen or heard anything fromBioShock 4since 2019, it’s about time that 2K fully pulled the curtain back on the dormant franchise, especially now that Ken Levine has beatBioShockto the gate. After taking some time out of the industry to recover from the troubled development ofBioShock Infinite, Ken Levine has now revealed his next gaming project. Revealed at the 2022 Game Awards,Judasis Levine’s first game sinceBurial at Sea, and it looks to be borrowing a lot of elements from theBioShockfranchise. And withBioShock 4still nowhere to be seen, fans are likely to put their focus on the project that’s going to give them a similar experience, and the one that releases sooner.
BioShock 4is in development.
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