Highlights
- BioShock fans may have to wait longer than expected for the highly anticipated fourth installment, with a potential release window now set for 2028, according to a screenshot from a Cloud Chamber artist's ArtStation profile.
- However, fans should take this information with a grain of salt, as the artist later changed the year to 2023, suggesting that the game could still release as planned in 2025 or earlier.
- The lengthy development timeline of BioShock 4 may indicate that developers have ample time to improve the game, but it could also be a result of management issues and delays. Fans will need to exercise patience as they await further updates.
It looks like the wait for BioShock 4 might take longer than expected. The highly anticipated fourth game in the BioShock franchise had been in the works for quite a while now, with some reports suggesting that it's in development hell.
Developer Cloud Chamber and publisher 2K Games had kept mum on details about BioShock 4, which had led many expectant fans to depend on rumors regarding the game's potential story and features. According to reports, BioShock 4 is said to be an open-world game set in the Antarctic city of Borealis. There's still no confirmation whether the fourth title will be part of the previous games' timeline, or if it will be an entirely different story to signal a new era of the popular franchise.
Following reports that BioShock 4's development team had been facing some troubles, Twisted Voxel reported that the game might finally have a release window. Unfortunately, BioShock 4 might not come out in 2025 as originally planned. In a screenshot, the outlet discovered that Cloud Chamber Senior Concept Artist Mark Sztaba put down "2028" for BioShock 4's production on his ArtStation profile. If this is to be believed, then BioShock fans might have to wait five more years before they can play the fourth installment.
While the rumored timeline might be worrisome for fans, they should still take the news with a grain of salt since Sztaba changed the year to "2023" on his profile as of this writing. This might mean that BioShock 4 would have a chance to release in 2025 as planned, or at the very least before 2028. Of course, there will still be many BioShock fans who will be concerned because of the game's seemingly rocky development stage, plus the fact that Cloud Chamber hasn't provided BioShock 4 updates.
Previous reports claimed that BioShock 4 had undergone many revisions due to alleged issues within management and uncertainty of financial success. Many fans believed that the development struggled after BioShock creator Ken Levine left the project after the shuttering of Irrational Games. They also requested for 2K Games to hire Levine back just for BioShock 4, but the developer had already started working on Judas under Ghost Story Games.
BioShock 4 having a lengthy development timeline could also be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it would mean developers will have a lot of time to enhance and perfect the game before it comes out. However, it could also mean that BioShock 4 got delayed multiple times because of the alleged management issues. For now, BioShock fans will have to wait patiently for the new game to finally be finished.
BioShock 4 is in development.
Source: Twisted Voxel