New BioShock Game Might Be Open World, According To Job Listings

The new BioShock game in development at Cloud Chamber might feature a big change for the series, moving from a fairly linear structure to an open world. A job listing at Cloud Chamber spotted by PCGamesN specifically mentions "open-world."

A job ad for a senior writer says, "We're hoping to find someone who can weave impactful, character-driven stories in an open world setting." The successful candidate will work on dialogue and other narrative elements of the new BioShock, while this person will also help come up with ideas for "primary and secondary mission content with design."

Cloud Chamber has 17 open positions listed on its careers page spread across a variety of disciplines, but the senior writer job ad is the only one that mentions "open-world."

It's possible that Cloud Chamber is working on other projects outside of the new BioShock game, but the job ad for senior writer that mentions an open-world structure specifically says the position is for BioShock.

It bears mentioning that game development is a highly iterative process and just because one job ad mentions "open-world," that doesn't necessarily mean the new BioShock game will be an open-world title. Also, the term "open-world" is not so easily defined, as the term means different things to different developers in different contexts.

A spokesperson for 2K told GameSpot, "2K does not comment on rumors and speculation related to studio employment listings."

The BioShock series has been dormant for some years now, with the latest mainline release, BioShock Infinite, coming in 2013.

Before this, job listings at Cloud Chamber suggested that the new BioShock would feature a "new and fantastical world," suggesting it won't return to Rapture or Columbia.

From the looks of it, Cloud Chamber appears to be at the earliest stages of development on the next BioShock game, but it'll be interesting to see what they create with a team of both BioShock veterans and new hires. Series creator Ken Levine is not involved with the new BioShock game. Instead, he's been working on experimental narrative-focused projects at Ghost Story Games, which is the successor to the much-larger Irrational Games that came before.