Despite debuting over ten years ago, the BioShock trilogy is still as prevalent in video game culture today as it was when the original game hits shelves back in 2007. What Ken Levine and the now-disbanded Irrational Games team created through their work on the franchise was nothing short of revolutionary, with the studio assembling not only one of the greatest games of its era, but perhaps of all time.
Melding high-concept science-fiction, creepy horror, and a hyperbolic commentary on objectivism, BioShock was a haunting experience that showed just how unique video game storytelling could be. It depicted a sunken, underwater metropolis destroyed by human arrogance, but did so through immersive, environmental storytelling, portraying the fall of this dystopian nightmare through the wreckage left in its wake.
Its incredible world partnered with its morally complex cast of characters, astounding technical prowess for the time, and now-iconic third-act plot twist quickly morphed BioShock into the poster boy for what story-focused games could achieve. It inspired numerous titles in its stead and spawned two well-received sequels, creating an admittedly unconventional franchise that was widely recognized as one of the all-time greats.
So, where is the franchise now? It has been the one question on fans’ minds ever since the release of Bioshock: Infinite all the way back in 2013, yet in that grueling six-year wait, the series’ remained eerily silent. That’s not stopped the games industry from talking, however, and if recent rumblings are to be believed, Bioshock 3 is well into development and could be in the hands of players as early as next year.
These leaks are fairly substantial as well. It’s been reported that an unnamed studio working alongside Hangar 13 was developing a new Bioshock sequel. That alone has made it abundantly clear that a fourth entry in the series is well on its way, but a slew of suspicious actions from the publishers behind BioShock has only added fuel to the fire.
One comes from a job listing from 2K, citing that it was looking for an End Game Design Lead to work on an innovative new live service experience. Naturally, that doesn’t immediately ring alarm bells as a Bioshock sequel; the series has always reveled in delivering linear, story-focused experiences after all. However, it’s the job listing’s additional description that made Bioshock fans give it a second look.
The listing describes the game’s world as “something we are designing to be alive and engaging past the main narrative arc.” That would imply that the game would feature some form of a main narrative through-line, and when taking into account that the listing also claims the project features a “fantastic world” and an “incredible story” then there’s a lot here that hints towards a new take on the BioShock formula. The job itself requires the candidate to design quests, progression systems, and narrative structures, perhaps implying that this brand new BioShock game could be the first to take the series to an open-world setting. Whether it’s a sequel that looks to expand the franchise’s story beyond the credits or a completely different IP entirely, it’s an interesting prospect to consider.
The second comes from an earnings call, where Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two CEO, announced that the company had the “strongest development pipeline in history.” He went on to claim that a lot of this exciting line-up came from both new IP and “sequels from our biggest franchises.” Of course, Take-Two are the proud owners of the Bioshock brand, and it stands to reason that part of Zelnick’s new slate of exciting games could be a long-awaited follow-up to the series. That’s without even mentioning the fact that the CEO has stated prior that BioShock was a core franchise for the company and fans could expect sequels down the line.
If the overwhelming amounts of evidence are to be believed, it looks likely that we’ll be venturing back to the world of Bioshock at some point in the near future. Perhaps a better question to ask, however, is where this next entry will actually go? The series has ventured to some crazy places already, and with its lead creative force, Ken Levine, stepping down in favor of developing new titles, whoever takes the reigns of the franchise is in for a serious challenge. Of course, the ending of Bioshock Infinite did open the door to a wide number of opportunities for a potential sequel, giving the game’s developer a lot of options as to where the franchise could travel to next.
For those who need a quick recap (spoiler warning to players who haven’t reached Bioshock Infinite’s ending just yet), the ending of the game sees protagonists Booker and Elizabeth realize that the traditional Bioshock story is a constantly looping cycle being enacted in an infinite number of realities. Elizabeth tells Booker that in every story, “there’s always a lighthouse, there’s always a man, and there’s always a city.” She explains that while each different dimension or reality follows the same pattern, they’re all altered by “constants and variables”, before bringing the player into the world of Rapture, finally explaining how Columbia and its sunken counterpart connect.
This gives a wide amount of leeway to where a new BioShock could take the series next. While a followup could well make its return to the pearly white clouds of Columbia or the terrifying hallways of Rapture, it seems more likely that a sequel would function as a soft reboot that goes to an entirely new dystopian metropolis altogether. There’s even precedent to imagine where this next entry in the franchise could be set, as Levine first pitched Bioshock as taking place on a tropical island dominated by a Nazi research base.
Outside of that, fans have pitched a whole host of other horrifying dystopian nightmares for a potential fourth game. Many would love to see the game transition to an underground city, while others have campaigned for a sequel set in an isolating space station or even within the fiery confines of a volcano. As long as there’s a man, a city, and a lighthouse, then the sequel could go absolutely anywhere, and if the studio behind the game were smart, it would use the freedom to develop something that avoids retreading the same tracks as the iconic titles that came before it.
Regardless of what’s next for the series, it’s good to know that 2K and Take-Two are still looking to expand Bioshock’s extensive universe. Even without Ken Levine, the unique style, tone, and high-concept storytelling of the series have always allowed it to explore grounded themes, philosophies, and socially relevant topics in ways very few other forms of media can. Here’s to hoping that whenever Bioshock does make its long-awaited return, it’s ready to make its mark on the annuals of video game history all over again.
Bioshock 3 is rumored to be in development for unspecified platforms.
