BioShock 4 is supposed to happen — it’s been announced and has not yet been cancelled, like so many other sequels that were supposed to happen but didn’t. A 2024 job search post indicated that even then, the game was still happening. Unfortunately, it is currently in “development hell,” which is never good. A report suggests it recently failed an internal review from 2K Games, and managerial shakeups are coming to try and get the game back on track. There are said to have been some issues with the story’s narrative, in particular. While I can’t provide anything on that front, I can provide some guesses as to the game’s new location. The first two games were set in Rapture, the city under the sea. BioShock Infinite took to the skies with the floating city of Columbia.
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The next setting has to be similarly secluded and unique, and there are six possible options that Cloud Chamber can pursue whenever they do finally get BioShock 4 off the ground.
1) Antarctica
There is a longstanding rumor that BioShock 4‘s city would be in Antarctica, and it’s easy to see how this makes sense. Rapture was secluded under the ocean, making it inaccessible to everyone. Similarly, Columbia was hard to get to. Antarctica might even be more secluded than those two, because little lives there. It would also fit right in with some of the environmental themes present in the first two games. Additionally, it would be fascinating to see how a city in Antarctica came about, adding to why this would make so much sense.
2) Jungle
The jungle might not be secluded because it’s just on land where pretty much anyone can get to, but there are such things as dense jungles. Imagine a city tucked away behind a dense wall of jungle trees, grass, and other things. It would be extremely clever, especially if people didn’t know the city was there. This would allow for some more environmental exploration, particularly on the effects of deforestation. It would also allow for some really breathtaking visuals.
3) Aboveground Dome
The underwater dome, Rapture, didn’t work out so well. Cracks began to show up in the first game, with plenty of areas being flooded. Putting it where water could totally destroy everything was a bold choice, so an aboveground dome, closed off to the rest of the world, would make a ton of sense. It would also work narratively, because if Rapture didn’t work underground, the natural evolution would be to try a version of Rapture above ground.
4) Underwater
Perhaps BioShock 4 is going to be about the revival of Rapture. Even though Andrew Ryan and Dr. Sofia Lamb are gone, there are still plenty of eccentric rich folks who might be unwilling to let Rapture go and fully willing to fund its restoration. Narratively, this is perhaps the easiest way to plot a sequel, and Rapture is beloved by gamers everywhere, so this is maybe a safe and boring choice, but it’s not a bad prediction. BioShock Infinite was a little controversial for ditching Rapture, so a surefire way to please those people is to return home.
5) Underground
What if Rapture were similarly below the surface, but without all the dangerous water threatening to burst everything? That’s where BioShock 4 could go, placing the fictional, secluded city for the rich in a massive cave system. Think of it like when you and your friends get the bright idea to build your Minecraft bases in a cave or ravine, except it’s rich, very eccentric people, and much more intricate than that. It would be so much fun to see what the developers could come up with underground.
6) Outer Space
BioShock and BioShock 2 were underwater. BioShock Infinite had nowhere to go but up, so the game did, up into the sky. What if they just kept going up? Outer space is currently untapped in this franchise. It would follow the trend and would actually provide some really prevalent themes. Rich people today like to go into outer space for fun and spend millions of dollars to do it, so there’s a bunch of timely criticism right there on a silver platter. Plus, if BioShock could have really good aesthetics and atmosphere underwater, imagine what the team could do in outer space.
Where do you think the next BioShock will take place? Let us know in the comments below!
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