Last December, BioShock 4 was finally confirmed to be in development, over 7 years since BioShock Infinite released back in 2013. The series is known for its strong world-building, ground-breaking narratives, and investment in philosophical questions that have explicitly tackled everything from Ayn Rand’s Objectivism to white supremacy.
The locations of the BioShock games are some of their greatest attractions. The first two were set in Rapture, a failed Libertarian utopia at the bottom of the ocean. Infinite was set in Columbia, a white nationalist city in the sky. There are some good reasons, however, that BioShock 4 should take players somewhere entirely new.
Linked Worlds
When BioShock Infinite was originally released, 2K did not reveal that it took place in the same universe as the first two BioShock games, and in one sense, the studio was not lying. It is revealed late into BioShock Infinite that the lighthouse Booker DeWitt enters to ascend to Columbia, just as Jack enters a lighthouse to descend to Rapture, is just one in a multiverse of linked realities. Rapture and Columbia are, in some sense, the same city. Jack, Booker, Ryan, and Comstock are the same person to varying degree, and Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite even returns to Rapture in Infinite’s DLC.
BioShock Infinite made a point of linking Rapture and Columbia as different versions of the same idea. Both set themselves up as utopias, both created cults of personality around central figures, both made clear delineations between those who were deemed worthy of that utopia and those who weren’t, and both cities ultimately cannibalized themselves in chaos and revolution despite their apparent ideological differences.
BioShock 4 should try and complicate the series’ message even further, introducing players to a world that is at least initially hard to see as another parallel to BioShock's Rapture or Columbia. It could even be interesting to some players if the game took the perspective of indoctrinating the players themselves, as opposed to the other two settings which made their dystopian elements quite clear from the get-go.
The Philosophy of BioShock
One of the main points the first three BioShock games make is how little difference there are between the outcomes of extreme ideologies once they are reduced to cults of personality. BioShock 4 should try and give an example that is radically different to the previous 2 settings to see how that aligns with and complicates the point made across the other games so far.
With Rapture and Columbia so clearly set up as a binary – one in the sky, one under the sea – it isn’t immediately clear where the 2K franchise could take players next. It may be important, however, that like with BioShock Infinite the parallels are not immediately apparent for players to ultimately get the point the game is making by its conclusion. It will also be important that the BioShock settings don’t merely become thematic backdrops for the continuation of the stories of characters players have already met, leaving the philosophical side of the games behind.
BioShock Infinite did this by introducing the parallel universe element, such as with the Lutece twins. This helped expand upon the point being made in the original BioShock while still introducing a totally new concept with implications for the game’s story and its thesis.
With 2K creating Cloud Chamber for the development of BioShock 4, many fans will be extremely excited for more details about the upcoming game to be revealed. Many will be hoping that the time taken between BioShock Infinite and BioShock 4 has been used to develop a strong and original central concept which will feel like a worthy successor the previous BioShock games and their messages without simply retreading old ground. The direction the franchise is going, however, has yet to be revealed.
A new BioShock game is in development but a release date and platforms have not been confirmed.