BioShock 4 continues to remain a mystery with delays, development overhauls and even rumours of cancellations but no matter what happens, it seems as though one BioShock veteran will not be involved.
It has been well over a decade since the latest BioShock instalment, BioShock Infinite, was released and since then, fans have been eagerly anticipating BioShock 4 (or whatever it may be titled).
First announced back in 2019, developers Cloud Chamber have given fans little to no information about what BioShock 4 will include or when it will even be released.
Not only that but with reports of mass layoffs, staff changes and complete story overhauls in the middle of development, it is safe to say that BioShock 4 is probably still quite a while away.
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This is the first BioShock project that will be developed without Ken Levine who has now turned his attention to the upcoming FPS Judas at Ghost Story Games.
Despite Ghost Story Games and Cloud Chamber both being owned by Take-Two Interactive, Levine revealed that the two studios rarely work together and, as a result, he has had no part of BioShock 4’s development.
Speaking to content creator MrMattyPlays, Levine was asked if he had input into the story and/or development of the next BioShock title.
Although the short answer was no, Levine soon explained in a bit more detail.
"It was much harder when BioShock 2 happened because I wanted to go in a different direction, and for a while it wasn't clear whether that was going to happen, and there was some disagreement there," he explained.
"On this one, I decided that I didn't know what else I had to say in the BioShock front, and so I walked away from it.”
He explains that the whole process made him question whether he wanted to work on sequels in the future.
"It is a strange thing. It can be really liberating but it also [can] be kind of a trap,” he added.
“So this time I, you know, with my blessing, I said 'please make something cool.'"
However, Levine feels as though BioShock 4 is in good hands as the Cloud Chamber team has “a lot of smart people” including the new project lead Rod Fergusson who also worked on BioShock Infinite.
Put simply, Levine has not been involved in any of the creative or developmental processes in BioShock 4 and with the original trilogy being considered some of the best in gaming, this could spell bad news for the future.
“Without him I’m not sure I wanna play a BioShock game.
That being said I did love [BioShock] 2,” one user over on r/PS5 shared.
However, another user did not share the same sentiment.