BioShock 4 studio leads removed as game fails internal review

The future of the BioShock franchise is appearing somewhat uncertain following a report detailing shakeups in the development of upcoming titles. According to reporting by Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, an unnanounced remake of the original game which was rumoured to be in development last year has been cancelled. While the new mainline BioShock game developed by Cloud Chamber announced back in 2019 is still in development, director Kelley Gilmore has reportedly been removed from her role after the game “failed a review” by publisher 2K Games.

According to the report, developer Cloud Chamber has seen changes to its leadership. Game director Kelley Gilmore has been “ousted” by 2K Games with creative director Hogarth de la Plante getting reassigned to a “publishing role“. Following an internal review, the next BioShock game’s narrative was “identified as an area that was particularly in need of improvement” and will be “revamped“. Cloud Chamber staff have been advised that the studio must become “more agile and efficient“. Understandably, to many in the company, this sounds like a prelude to potential layoffs.

In a statement to Bloomberg, 2K Games has stated that it is “working hard to set BioShock up for the best possible future“. The publisher acknowledges that the new BioShock title is “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.”

In the meantime, Microsoft and inXile are working on Clockwork Revolution, a steampunk first-person RPG which seems to take not a small amount of inspiration from BioShock Infinite’s aesthetics and mechanics. Original Bioshock director Ken Levine has since gone on to found Ghost Story Games, which is working on Judas, a sci-fi FPS RPG which also has a lot in common with the BioShock series.

It is unclear what sort of direction this shakeup at Cloud Chamber could be leading to. The next BioShock entry has been in development for at least 6 years without a release window in sight. Additionally, all that we know of a potential original BioShock remake that was in development is that it was reportedly “shelved earlier this year“. 2K Games has affirmed that it is “fully committed to ensuring we deliver a BioShock game that exceeds the lofty expectations of our fans”.