We know that a new BioShock game is in the works, but official details about BioShock 4 are hard to come by. Nevertheless, there have been plenty of leaks, job descriptions, and reputable reports giving us a slight insight into the game, which is allegedly titled BioShock Isolation.
The BioShock series has given PlayStation and Xbox players some of the best games ever, but there’s no escaping the fact that it’s been a very long time since the most recent mainline game, BioShock Infinite, launched in 2013. So, here’s everything we’ve managed to find on BioShock 4 right now to give you an early sense of what to expect.
BioShock 4 developer
BioShock 4 is being developed by Cloud Chamber, a studio set up by publisher 2K Games in 2019. This is Cloud Chamber’s first project, but the studio is packed with experience, including some devs that worked on previous BioShock games.
Cloud Chamber is spearheaded by Kelley Gilmore, who was formerly at Firaxis Games for 18 years.
It has confirmed that it is developing BioShock 4 in Unreal Engine 5.
Is BioShock 4 called BioShock Isolation?
A leak on social media by ‘Oops Leaks’ in November 2021 included a logo for the next BioShock game, which appeared to suggest it would be called BioShock Isolation.
Seeing as the third BioShock ended up with the name BioShock Infinite, it’s certainly plausible that the fourth game will continue the trend and not simply feature a number in the title. However, take this information with a grain of salt, as the Isolation name could be subject to change or could be an internal name used by Cloud Chamber.
When might we see BioShock 4?
BioShock 4 was officially announced back in 2019, and at the time, publisher 2K said that the game was “several years away”. Apart from this one comment, that’s the only official indication we have when it comes to the game’s release date.
A 2019 report from reputable videogames journalist Jason Schreier alleged that a small team (that would go on to become Cloud Chamber) had been working on BioShock 4 since 2017.
Soon after, a report from Colin Moriarty of the Sacred Symbols podcast said the game was reportedly being planned for a 2022 release – but this of course never materialized.
Hopes were raised in 2024 that we would at least see an official reveal of BioShock 4, as 2K said that during Summer Game Fest of that year it would reveal a new entry in one of its most beloved franchises. Despite the hopes that it would be BioShock, it turned out to be Civilization 7. More claims from Oops Leaks suggested that BioShock 4 had been pushed back to 2024 – however, with the game still not officially revealed, this now seems highly unlikely.
Unless the game suffers from some really serious internal delays, we expect BioShock 4 to be out before the end of this console generation and launch on Xbox Series X|S and PS5.
Bioshock 4 setting
According to Colin Moriarty, the next BioShock is reportedly set in a fictional Antarctic city in the 1960s. VGC says that this lines up with what its sources have also said about the game’s setting.
According to job listings posted by Cloud Chamber, it appears that BioShock 4 will be an open-world game, so the game’s city will potentially be a seamless, fully-explorable space.
That covers everything we currently know about BioShock 4 (or BioShock Isolation, if you’d rather call it that for now). Be sure to peruse our guides on the dozens of other major new PS5 games and new Xbox games that are on the horizon.