2K Games Confirms Layoffs At BioShock 4 Studio Cloud Chamber, Rumored To Be Up To 80 Staff

2K Games has confirmed the layoffs at Cloud Chamber Games, without confirming the numbers that have gone public.

Jason Schreier’s source claims that 2K laid off 80 out of Cloud Chamber’s 250 employees. This happened on the same day the rumors first spread, and affected both their offices in Montreal, Canada, and Novato, California.

They made the confirmation after rumors first spread about the layoffs.

They’re Making The Studio Smaller On Purpose

They then shared this message from 2K president David Ismailer:

While we’re excited about the foundational gameplay elements of the project, we’ve made the decision with studio leadership to rework certain aspects that are core to a BioShock game, and in doing so are reducing the size of the development team to focus on this work and give the game more time in development.

This message came from an email that Ismailer sent to employees.

Could This Plan Really Work?

Schreier also claims that BioShock 4’s next delay won’t be as bad as starting over. In fact, the game is now scheduled between late 2026 to early 2027. While the news has been terrible, this should be a sign that development is actually ending soon.

As we’ve heard, the main issue with the game is passing QA. A seasoned veteran like Rod Fergusson might be the person 2K Games needs to get it through that hurdle.

Maybe Rod Fergusson Will Make The Difference

Fergusson recently left Microsoft and Blizzard after spending five years on the Diablo franchise. He has worked in the video game industry since 2001, and he has credits on games as distinct and successful as Gears of War, Counter-Strike, and Overwatch 2.

Most importantly, Fergusson was EVP of Development on BioShock Infinite. While BioShock will always be associated with Ken Levine, someone like Fergusson has a credible claim as one of the game’s original creators.

Fergusson’s Big Promise

Fergusson shared this statement on social media a week after leaving Diablo:

Would you kindly allow me to share some news?

Some of you guessed it, I’m returning to 2K to lead a series that means a lot to me as the new Head of the BioShock Franchise. I’ll be heading up Cloud Chamber and overseeing development of the next BioShock game, along with franchise extensions like the in-development Netflix movie.

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.

For now, the firehose of onboarding awaits, and I look forward to sharing more when I can.