Many are hoping that 2K Games properly revealsBioShock 4sometime soon, with many looking to places like Summer Game Fest for a proper trailer. This is because 2K Games has confirmed the game is in development, revealing the developer responsible to be thenewly-established Cloud Chamber back in 2019. It features several devs who worked on the original game, and so reasonably, there is a lot of hype behind it.
A lot of hype, but no game showcase yet, is a hard recipe. Outside of Cloud Chamber, some job listings have suggestedBioShock 4is an open-world RPG, but many have taken that in stride. BioShock is a franchise that could really run away from the concept. However, that’s a double-edged sword. Not much has been shown of Starfield, as an example, but it’s in a similar boat. Many took its hard delay, not because of what they had seen of it, but because of the promise it had. Truly, this puts a lot of undue expectations on a game no one has really seen much of.
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BioShock 4 Has an Elder Scrolls 6 Problem
To make matters worse,BioShock 4has the gargantuan task of following the originalBioShockgames. The firstBioShockandBioShock Infiniteare some of the highest-rated games of all time, with the franchise having a dedicated following. It’s also quite possible thatBioShock 4releases 10 years afterInfinite,and while that represents a huge leap in technology, it also represents an increased level of expectation.
The best comparison is perhaps TheElder Scrolls 6andGrand Theft Auto 6. Both are titles fans have wanted for quite some time, with the predecessors being over and shortly under a decade old. The sales success of each game no doubt played a role in these sequels being so far pushed out, but the expectation cannot be understated either.The Elder Scrolls 6has the impossible task of followingSkyrim, one of the most influential RPGson the market, andGrand Theft Auto 6has the even more impossible task of following themost profitable entertainment product of all time.
BioShock 4is in these exact shoes, having to follow its highly-rated predecessors. There’s a golden rule in the industry that anything can flop, no matter how anticipated it is, with games like Anthem andCyberpunk 2077being proof of this. This holds true ofThe Elder Scrolls 6, GTA 6,andBioShock 4, and so with all of this combined, it can be quite daunting.
However, there is a silver lining to this. IfBioShock 4manages to live up to or surpass its predecessors, then it’ll likely represent a huge step forward for the franchise and gaming.BioShock 4could prove to be a seminal release, and there’s little reason to doubt its capabilities—given the staff at Cloud Chamber. The challenge may be tough, but diamonds are made under pressure.
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