Is a man not entitled to a fourth entry in one of the most fascinating video game franchises in history? That's a question fans of BioShock have been asking themselves for years now, but it seems we might finally be on the cusp of a definitive answer. Rumours of an in-development BioShock 4 have been swirling for a while now, but newly-surfaced clues all but confirm the game is on the way - and when we can expect it.
Rumours first emerged last year that publisher Take-Two Interactive had established a "top secret" studio at 2K Games to work on a new BioShock, and we're seeing more and more evidence to back this up. Just last week, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick dropped some exciting hints during a Quarterly Earnings call.
As reported by GameRant, Zelnick teased that the company currently has the "strongest development pipeline in history." He also said that we can look forward to "sequels from our biggest franchises as well as exciting new IP." Intriguing, no?
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If that's not enough for you, try this on for size. Later that week a new job listing appeared on 2K's website for an "End Game Design Lead" position in Novato, California. That's where the 2K Parkside studio is based... the same studio that Kotaku last year claimed was hard at work on a new BioShock game.
According to the job listing, 2K is after someone who can help "build a post-narrative set of systems, quests, and player progression that gives our fanatic fangirls and fanboys more content to experience on an ongoing, live-service basis."
In other words, it sounds like the studio is looking at ways to extend the life of its new game after the single-player story has been completed. That could go either way, to be honest. Just look at Ghost Recon Breakpoint's attempts at live-service features and how well that went.
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Finally, a post over on the ever-diligent BioShock Reddit forums details all of the staff who seem to be working at 2K Parkside on the mystery project. Tellingly, the list of developers includes numerous figures who worked on the original BioShock games, as well as other creepy first-person adventures like Prey.
Given that we're nearing the end of the current generation of consoles, I'd imagine that the next BioShock will be exclusive to PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, but we'll have to wait and see. As always, I recommend you keep your expectations in check until we hear official word on BioShock 4... or whatever it might end up being called.
Featured Image Credit: 2K Games