BioShock 4 PS5

Rod Fergusson, formerly of Blizzard Entertainment, where he led the Diablo franchise for five years, has joined BioShock 4 team Cloud Chamber as the new studio head. This is coupled with an "unspecified" number of layoffs at the studio.

Reported by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, the move sees Fergusson return to the cherished series. In the final few months of BioShock Infinite's development, he joined Irrational Games in a position known as a "Closer". This is a management-level role where the person is brought in to help bring a troubled development cycle to completion, making important decisions around content and gameplay.

Now, as a studio head, Fergusson finds himself in charge of another BioShock title going through troubled times. Earlier this month, Schreier reported the fourth BioShock game had failed a publisher review and changes would need to be made to the project's narrative.

At the time, a 2K Games spokesperson said: "We are working hard to set BioShock up for the best possible future. Right now, we have a good game, but we are committed to delivering a great one. We are working closely with leadership at the studio to define this path."

BioShock 4 is a lot more than a few months away from release, so Fergusson joins Cloud Chamber at an earlier stage in its development lifecycle. Nevertheless, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is adamant the game will release "without question". He continued: "That I can say hand on heart, without question." A remake of the first BioShock from the PS3 days was also mentioned in the Bloomberg report, but this has reportedly been shelved.

In a post on social media, Fergusson said: "While I’m excited to get started in the coming weeks, I recognize the studio restructuring is a difficult time for the team. I’m deeply grateful for the work done so far, and I’m committed to building a BioShock game we’ll be proud of and that our players will love."

The fourth mainline entry, at least, is now in Fergusson's hands. Does this give you more confidence BioShock 4 will now make it to market in the next few years? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

[source bsky.app]