BioShock 4 developer Cloud Chamber is reportedly laying off an “unspecified” number of employees. The news comes as former Diablo boss Rod Fergusson joins as new studio head following claims of development “turmoil”.
Word that BioShock 4’s development had running into difficulties first emerged earlier this month when Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported the project had failed an internal review at 2K Games, with particular criticism being levied at its narrative. Soon after, studio head Kelley Gilmore was ousted and staff were warned the team needed to “become more agile and efficient”, leading to concerns layoffs were imminent. And now Schreier – who has described BioShock 4’s development as being in “turmoil” – reports job cuts affecting an “unspecified number of staff” at Cloud Chamber have begun.
Amid all this, former Diablo boss Rod Fergusson has now been confirmed as Cloud Chamber’s new studio head. Fergusson previously served as head of the Diablo franchise at Blizzard, having joined the company in February 2020, but was confirmed to be “stepping away” from his position earlier this month. Notably, Fergusson played a key role in the release of the third BioShock title, BioShock Infinite, joining Irrational Games to help the project over the finish line after its own difficult development.
Confirming his new role at Cloud Chamber on social media, Fergusson wrote, “Some of you guessed it, I’m returning to 2K to lead a series that means a lot to me as the new Head of the BioShock Franchise. I’ll be heading up Cloud Chamber and overseeing development of the next BioShock game, along with franchise extensions like the in-development Netflix movie.
“While I’m excited to get started in the coming weeks, I recognise the studio restructuring is a difficult time for the team. I’m deeply grateful for the work done so far, and I’m committed to building a BioShock game we’ll be proud of and that our players will love.
BioShock 4 was formally announced in 2019, with its release said to be “several” years away at the time. 2K Games has, however, been attempting to get a sequel off the ground for over a decade – back in 2014, the publisher announced its now-defunct 2K Marin studio would be responsible for the future of BioShock after Ken Levine departed Irrational Games to found Ghost Story Games. Little has been heard of the project since its shift to Cloud Chamber, but in 2021 it was reported BioShock 4 would take place in a fictional Antarctic city set sometime during the 1960s, roughly concurrent with the events of BioShock 1 and 2.
As for Levine and Ghost Story Games, the studio’s next project, Judas, is still without a release date – but it seems likely the BioShock-style shooter will emerge well before 2K’s next official BioShock game.
