Images from the next mainline BioShock have reportedly leaked online, but they reveal very little about the game.
MP1ST IGN published the image, which was unearthed from a showreel of a visual effects artist working for publisher 2K, and has reached out to 2K for comment.
According to the site, the image was taken from a 2021 showreel depicting an early demo build of the game, so it’s already years old and likely doesn’t reflect what fans will be able to play when the next BioShock launches.
It has the first-person shooter gameplay you’d expect from a previous BioShock game, a basic user interface, and something called a “Ricochet shotgun.” There are what appear to be BioShock-style plasmid powers in the form of icons, which are activated by pressing the bumper button on the controller. We don’t know what these mean, but one looks like an electric bolt, which is very BioShock-like. Another looks like a stopwatch, which suggests that there were (and still are) plans to let you pause time during gameplay.
The character faces what appears to be a burning sphere on a pedestal. Notably, the codename “Parkside” is visible in the image. This is a 2019 Kotaku A report revealing the same codename and a recent leak of a video game’s codename on the Epic Game Store.
2K is looking forward to Bioshock sequel It was released in 2019. It was originally outsourced to Halo support studio Certain Affinity, but is now in development at 2K studio Cloud Chamber. 2K has yet to call the game BioShock 4, so it’s unclear whether it will be a sequel, a prequel, or something separate from what came before.
However, we do know that the game will be set in what 2K is calling a “new fantastical world,” so don’t expect a return to Rapture or Columbia, the settings of BioShock 1 and 2 and Bioshock Infinite, respectively.
Ken Levin, head developer of the original BioShock, was not involved. After Levin left Irrational Games and the studio closed, he founded a new development company called Campfire Games (later renamed Ghost Story Games), which is currently developing the game. Judas.
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or [email protected].
