BioShock 4 “deeply disappointed” Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, with the industry veteran confirming as much in a recent interview. Although the project did not progress as well as Take-Two had hoped, Zelnick offered a cautiously optimistic view of BioShock 4current status.
BioShock 4 is currently in development at Cloud Chamber, a studio comprised 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. Cloud Chamber, a division of 2K Games, was formally established in 2019 with the express goal of developing a fourth main series. BioShock game. Today it has offices in Montreal, Canada and Novato, California. However, the only study project did not proceed according to the original plan, s BioShock 4 in mid-2026, six and a half years after entering development, still nowhere.
Ken Levine compares the scope of BioShock to the new Judas game
BioShock creator Ken Levine shares his thoughts on how his ambitious upcoming game Judas will measure up to his iconic previous works.
Take-Two CEO 'deeply disappointed' but not surprised by BioShock 4 release
In a recent interview with Game File's Stephen Totil, Zelnick acknowledged the project's difficulties, describing them as a reflection of some of the broader challenges facing modern game development. When asked if it surprised him BioShock 4's repeated delays and longer development timelines for big games, the executive said he wasn't, adding that he doesn't run the business in a way that leaves him blindsided by such issues. Still, he admitted he was “deeply disappointed” by how long BioShock 4 takes to do.
I think in retrospect we wasted a lot of time and money chasing down some creative alleys that turned out to be dead ends.
Zelnick 'Feels Much Better' About BioShock 4 Right Now
Totilo also asked Zelnick if he was more optimistic about the current state BioShock 4before interrupting his own question to note that Zelnick probably wouldn't have said otherwise even if he didn't. Zelnick chimed in, saying that while he might decline to answer some questions, he wouldn't be misleading, adding that he actually “feels a lot better” about the project right now. Asked about the root of Cloud Chamber's development problems, Zelnick was vague. “I think in retrospect we wasted a lot of time and money chasing some creative alleys that turned out to be dead ends,” the executive said.
Where exactly that leaves the project is unclear, as Zelnick hasn't said when the upcoming Cloud Chamber title might finally be ready for release. BioShock 4The most recent major development issues date back to August 2025, when Bloomberg reported a major shakeup at Cloud Chamber, with creative director Hogarth de la Plante being moved into a “publishing role” and studio head Kelley Gilmore being replaced by Rod Ferguson. More than a decade earlier, Fergusson was also brought in to Irrational Games to help push BioShock Infinite across the finish line.
Guess the emoji games.
Start
Guess the emoji games.
Easy (120s) Medium (90s) Hard (60s)
The BioShock 4 team is still looking for some positions that should have already been filled
According to job postings reviewed by GameRant, Cloud Chamber is currently looking to fill several positions that would typically be filled long before a game enters its final stages of development. Among them is an opening for a Canadian fighting game designer, whose role focuses in part on shaping the game's enemy encounters. While the status of a project cannot be reliably deduced from a single job listing, recruitment activity of this nature suggests that BioShock 4 may not be in conventional late-stage development right now, especially in light of Cloud Chamber's restructuring in 2025. Shortly after that shakeup at the studio, Zelnick said BioShock 4 it can't settle for great and has to be “outstanding” before it ships, given the high quality bar set by the three previous entries in the iconic franchise.
