BioShock 4 has “deeply disappointed” Take-Two Interactive Chief Executive Officer Strauss Zelnick, with the industry veteran confirming as much in a recent interview. Although the project has not progressed as well as Take-Two expected, Zelnick offered a cautiously optimistic view of BioShock 4‘s current state.
BioShock 4 is currently in development at Cloud Chamber, a studio composed of both series veterans—including artist and former creative director Hogarth de la Plante, art director Scott Sinclair, and design director Jonathan Pelling—and newcomers to the franchise. A division of 2K Games, Cloud Chamber was formally established in 2019 with the explicit goal of developing the fourth mainline BioShock game. Today, it has offices in Montreal, Canada, and Novato, California. However, the studio’s sole project has not advanced according to the original plan, with BioShock 4 still nowhere to be seen as of mid-2026, six and a half years after entering development.
Ken Levine Compares BioShock’s Scope to New Game Judas
BioShock creator Ken Levine shares his thoughts on how his ambitious upcoming game, Judas, will size up to his iconic previous works.
Take-Two CEO ‘Deeply Disappointed’ But Not Surprised by BioShock 4 Issues
In a recent interview with Game File’s Stephen Totilo, Zelnick acknowledged the project’s difficulties, describing them as reflective of some broader challenges facing modern game development. Asked whether he was surprised by BioShock 4‘s repeated delays and the longer development timelines for major games, the executive said he was not, adding that he does not run a business in a way that leaves him blindsided by such issues. Still, he conceded that he was “deeply disappointed” by how long BioShock 4 is taking to make.
I think we, in retrospect, wasted a lot of time and money chasing down some creative alleys that turned out to be dead ends.
Zelnick ‘Feeling a Lot Better’ About BioShock 4 Right Now
Totilo also asked Zelnick whether he felt more optimistic about the current state of BioShock 4, before interrupting his own question to note that Zelnick probably would not say otherwise even if he did not. Zelnick interjected, saying that while he might decline to answer some questions, he would not answer misleadingly, and added that he was indeed “feeling a lot better” about the project right now. Asked about the root of the development issues at Cloud Chamber, Zelnick responded vaguely. “I think we, in retrospect, wasted a lot of time and money chasing down some creative alleys that turned out to be dead ends,” the executive said.
Where exactly this leaves the project is unclear, as Zelnick did not indicate when Cloud Chamber’s upcoming title may finally be ready for release. BioShock 4‘s latest major development troubles date back to August 2025, when Bloomberg reported about a major shake-up at Cloud Chamber in which creative director Hogarth de la Plante was moved to a “publishing role” and studio head Kelley Gilmore was replaced by Rod Fergusson. More than a decade earlier, Fergusson was also brought in at Irrational Games to help push BioShock Infinite over the finish line.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
BioShock 4 Team Still Hiring for Some Positions That Should Have Been Filled by Now
According to job listings reviewed by GameRant, Cloud Chamber is currently looking to fill multiple positions that would typically be staffed well before a game enters its final stretch of development. Among them is an opening for a Canada-based combat gameplay designer, a role focused in part on shaping the game’s enemy encounters. While a project’s status cannot be reliably inferred from a single job listing, hiring activity of this kind suggests that BioShock 4 may not be in a conventional late-stage of development right now, especially in light of Cloud Chamber’s 2025 restructuring. Shortly after that shake-up at the studio, Zelnick said BioShock 4 cannot settle for great and must be “exceptional” before it ships, given the high quality bar set by the three preceding entries in the iconic franchise.
