Although it’s not sure if the next BioShock will be having a numbered title, its development studio has been confirmed.
Take-Two (it doesn’t matter that the press release says 2K Games… Take-Two is the parent company) issued a statement, in which they revealed that a new studio has been formed. It’s called Cloud Chamber, and its first project will be the next instalment in the BioShock franchise, „which will be in development for the next several years.” Thus, it’s a next-gen title, probably coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Project Scarlett (Anaconda, Lockhart?), and PC. The studio will build teams in two locations: at 2K Games’ HQ in Novato, California (remember this city from previous BioShock rumours?), and, for the first time in 2K Games’ history, there will also be a studio in Montreal in Quebec, Canada.
Cloud Chamber is led by Kelley Gilmore, who has been in the industry for 22 years. She previously worked at Firaxis Games on Sid Meier’s Civilization and XCOM, and she contributed to more than 40 2K titles in the past. She’ll lead the group from Novato. The Montreal studio’s general manager will be Ken Schacter with „extensive experience in development, production, technology and creative roles.” He previously served as the general manager for Zynga in Toronto, as well as founding an independent game developer and publisher Trapdoor. „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. 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 honoured to be part of the 2K family as stewards of this iconic franchise,” said Gilmore.
„As we continue growing our product portfolio, we remain inspired by opportunities to invest further in our valuable IP, great people and their collective, long-term potential. 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,” said 2K Games president David Ismailer in a press release. You can find more than thirty job openings here.
Kotaku’s Jason Schreier writes that the game’s development started in 2015, with Austin, Texas-based Certain Affinity (formed by ex-Bungie devs in 2007 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, several recent Halo games, Doom 2016) leading the charge on the project codenamed Parkside. However, Take-Two rebooted the development in 2017, shifting it over to Novato, with a team partially consisting of ex-Hangar 13 (Mafia III) devs. We heard rumours about this team last year, and Cloud Chamber may be the same team.
Sadly, BioShock creator Ken Levine is not working on this game…
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