BioShock 4 Isn’t Canceled, Says Take-Two CEO — But the Road Ahead Remains Rough

BioShock (Credit: 2K)

Despite another major shake-up in development, BioShock 4 is still on track for release — at least according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick.

In a recent interview with IGN ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings report, Zelnick directly addressed concerns about the game's future and promised fans: “It’s going to come out. That I can say hand on heart, without question.”

That reassurance comes after a turbulent few weeks for the long-awaited sequel. As reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, BioShock 4 recently failed an internal review at 2K Games. This led to the removal of Cloud Chamber’s studio head and yet another overhaul of the game’s development — something that’s been happening repeatedly for over a decade now. And with no release window in sight, the project feels further away than ever.

Zelnick acknowledged these difficulties candidly. “We’ve had some ups and downs along the way. That is accurate. And we have had changes in studio leadership,” he admitted. However, he also emphasized the unique challenge of developing a new BioShock title — a franchise with a massive legacy, originally shaped by visionary creator Ken Levine.

“We need to make sure that this experience is true to the BioShock DNA on the one hand, and a massive step forward on the other hand. That’s always challenging,” Zelnick said. “We think we’re up to the challenge, but it has not been seamless.”

As for what went wrong this time, Schreier’s report revealed that the game's narrative was singled out as the area most in need of improvement. A rewrite is now in the works, and Cloud Chamber staff were reportedly told the studio needs to become “more agile and efficient.”

Zelnick further explained that while Take-Two is committed to supporting its creative teams, they’re not afraid to make difficult calls if a project isn’t living up to potential. Take-Two “would like to fail fast if we’re going to fail,” Zelnick said, noting that Take-Two, like many publishers, has canceled titles deep into development.

Still, BioShock 4 continues to hang on — if barely. The game has now been in development across multiple studios under the 2K umbrella for more than a decade. Since its official announcement in 2019, concrete details have remained scarce. Fans were also dealt another blow when it was revealed that a remake of the original BioShock had been quietly canceled earlier this year — another missed opportunity to fill the franchise’s long gap since 2013’s BioShock Infinite.

Meanwhile, a separate BioShock Netflix adaptation is still technically in production, though updates on that project have been few and far between.