It’s been over a decade since a new Bioshock game was released, far too long for one of the medium’s premiere franchises. The original trilogy was a seminal fusion of role-playing and first-person shooter action, and all three games are widely considered some of the finest to be released… two console generations ago.
Since publisher 2K Games confirmed Bioshock 4’s existence back in 2019, players have waited with bated breath for any update on the next game in the series. And at long last, gamers got their wish earlier this month. The Montreal and San Francisco-based developer behind the next Bioshock shared a small but reassuring update after a five-year silence. But while it looks like 2K is finally getting serious about Bioshock 4, some of the latest updates have us concerned that this influential gaming franchise might be chasing industry trends rather than sticking with the ideas that made it so important in the first place.
Bioshock 4 ramps up
2013’s Bioshock Infinite, a divisive entry in the series, was the last game in the long-running franchise.
2K Games
Development for the next Bioshock game is in full swing according to a lead member of the development team, marking the first significant update on the project since its announcement.
Jeff Spoonhower, a Senior Cinematic Designer at Cloud Chamber has shared several openings at the studio over the last month on Linkedin.
“The BioShock team at 2K Cloud Chamber is ramping up!” he wrote. “We have many positions open across a variety of disciplines including art, animation, engineering, design, narrative, and production.”
There will probably be another few years before the fourth Bioshock game emerges from the depths of development. The series has seen some big shake-ups behind the scenes, including the exit of franchise creator Ken Levine and multiple developers under 2K Games, including Certain Affinity, signing on to do the project.
Leaks have also provided unconfirmed but believable insight into the mystery project. The game is rumored to take place in a fictional city in Antarctica around the same mid-20th century time period as the original Bioshock. If true, it’s a welcome addition to the universe, one that feels totally in line with Rapture and Columbia before it.
Should Bioshock 4 be an open-world game?
The Bioshock games have historically been about as far from an open-world as you can get.
2K Games
leaks also suggest the game will incorporate an open-world structure, a first for the series known for providing more guided, setpiece-heavy experiences.
There have definitely been weirder franchises to transition towards an open-world structure. Jak and Daxter, Metal Gear Solid, and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst all took big risks in opening up their linear formulas to varying results. Unlike those titles, however, Bioshock has always emphasized its fantastical settings as one of the primary reasons to play. One could argue there’s plenty of untapped potential in allowing players to see more of the franchise’s signature, intricately designed dystopias.
But chasing this trend also runs the risk of diluting a big part of what made the first three games in the series so memorable. Leaving the series’ trademark environmental storytelling up to the player’s willingness to explore could relegate a defining pillar of Bioshock as an optional side element that some will simply skim past.
Environmental storytelling has always been a crucial part of Bioshock’s identity. Going open-world could muddy this pillar of the series.
The linear structure of past Bioshock games also meant objectives and levels always felt focused and built with intent. Even the more open areas of Bioshock Infinite’s Colombia were fairly small in scale thanks to the rapid skyhook. These design choices cut the potential for wasted time and ensured the games’ tight and concise storytelling was rarely side-tracked by menial side content bloating its runtime.
At a time when it feels like every game is open-world, giving the player all the agency to tackle objectives and missions as they please, Bioshock could benefit from subverting this dull gaming trope. Perhaps a decade ago, an open-world Bioshock game would’ve been the stuff of Andrew Ryan’s ambitious dreams. But these days, with the novelty of the genre wearing thinner with every major game announcement, a more focused Bioshock experience in the vein of the originals could be an exciting breath of fresh air.
Cloud Chamber could, of course, knock the open-world element of the next Bioshock game out of the park. The series has a history of subverting negative expectations, such as Bioshock 2’s surprisingly fun multiplayer modes. But open-world fatigue is very real and very present in the current landscape of video games. Going on 13 years without a new Bioshock game, the last thing players need is for such a seminal franchise to shed some of its strongest defining qualities in favor of chasing tiresome trends.