Buried in a lengthy announcement of a new studio, 2K Games today confirmed the next iteration of the BioShock franchise.
Whether it is a sequel, prequel, or remake, we don’t really know. What we do know is that the game will be developed out of the newly-formed Cloud Chamber. The studio will be wholly-owned by 2K Games.
Cloud Chamber will build its development team at two locations: 2K’s San Francisco Bay Area headquarters, as well as in Montréal, Québec. This marks the first-ever Canadian office for a 2K studio.
Kelley Gilmore will serve as Cloud Chamber’s Global Studio Head and be the first woman in 2K history to lead a development studio. Gilmore is a 22-year industry veteran with more than 40 games shipped to date.
Gilmore will lead what 2K Games is calling “a collective of storytellers eager to push the frontlines of interactive entertainment by making unique, entertaining and thoughtful experiences that engage the world.”
“We founded Cloud Chamber to create yet-to-be-discovered worlds – and their stories within – that push the boundaries of what is possible in the video game medium,” Gilmore says.
“Our team believes in the beauty and strength of diversity, in both the makeup of the studio and the nature of its thinking. We are a deeply experienced group of game makers, including many responsible for BioShock’s principal creation, advancement and longstanding notoriety, and honored to be part of the 2K family as stewards of this iconic franchise,” she adds.
BioShock will be at the center of their studio’s initial development push. Cloud Chamber has already begun work on the new game, which 2K says “will be in development for the next several years.”
No platforms have been confirmed at this point. Given the timeline and the history of releasing recent games on multiple platforms, we suspect that it will be a next-gen title on PC, PS5, and Xbox Project Scarlett. The last BioShock game, BioShock Infinite, was released in 2013.
“BioShock is one of the most beloved, critically praised and highest-rated franchises of the last console generation. We can’t wait to see where its powerful narrative and iconic, first-person shooter gameplay head in the future with our new studio team at Cloud Chamber leading the charge,” says David Ismailer, president of 2K Games.
Cloud Chamber will join a number of wholly-owned development teams for 2K Games. The roster includes Visual Concepts, Firaxis Games, Hangar 13, Cat Daddy Games and 2K Silicon Valley. Anyone interested in pursuing a career with the new studio can visit the Cloud Chamber website.
