BioShock 4 devs lay off 1/3rd of studio shortly after hiring superstar manager

BioShock developer Cloud Chamber has had its ranks diminished by heavy layoffs as publisher Take-Two Interactive takes control over the next game.

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The next BioShock game has been in development for about 10 years, and new updates show that it won't be out for another few years. Sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier about the current state of BioShock and the team that's making it.

Game dev studio Cloud Chamber has had its staff reduced by nearly 1/3rd, with 30% of employees being laid off. This reorganizational reduction affected about 80 out of the 250 people that work at the studio. The significant drop in personnel will delay BioShock 4 even further, with reports saying that Cloud Chamber and 2K had originally wanted to release the game by the end of 2026 or in Q1 2027.

In a memo to employees, 2K Games president David Ismailer says that this decision was to "rework" the current BioShock game build into something that more resembles the franchise.

"While we're excited about the foundational gameplay elements of the project, we've made the decision with studio leadership to rework certain aspects that are core to a BioShock game, and in doing so are reducing the size of the development team to focus on this work and give the game more time in development."

This is an interesting way to describe what's happening, considering we know that Cloud Chamber had originally wanted BioShock 4 to feel highly reactive and emergent, possibly set in an open world.

Reports also indicate that Cloud Chamber's current build of BioShock 4 wasn't reviewed well by executive management, which led to the current situation at hand.

BioShock 4 will be delayed by more years, sources say, with a potential release in 2028 or even 2029.

For its part, Take-Two seems quite serious about getting the next BioShock game out. The layoffs took place shortly after the publisher hired superstar manager Rod Fergusson, who helped bail out the BioShock franchise many years before and more recently helped ensure Diablo IV was actually shipped.

Fergusson is what is called a "closer" in the games industry, someone who steps in and ensures the development of a game leads to a shippable product--in this case, Fergusson "closes the deal" and gets the job done.

2K issued a statement on hiring Fergusson:

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.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has publicly spoken on the new BioShock game, promising that the project will come to fruition and release to fans.

"It's going to come out. That I can say hand on heart, without question."