Not much is known about BioShock 4 beyond the fact that it is in development. However, the details that have slipped through the cracks have painted a fascinating picture that has led to much speculation among fans of the franchise. Among other things, the upcoming game appears to be aiming to have a branching, RPG-style dialogue system, and an open world.
It has also been reported that BioShock 4 will be using Epic's Unreal Engine 5. Here's the evidence, and what that might mean BioShock fans can expect from the next chapter in the dystopian franchise.
Behind The Scenes At Cloud Chamber
A lot of what is known about BioShock 4's development at new studio Cloud Chamber has been inferred from the developer's job listings. Evidence that the game will have an open world was taken from a posting for a Systems Designer, asking for "an innate sense of how game systems connect and enhance one another in an emergent sandbox world." Evidence that BioShock 4 will have RPG-style dialogue was gleaned from an open position for Senior Voice Designer, requesting experience designing similar systems.
The evidence that BioShock 4 will use Unreal Engine 5 comes from a listing for a Senior Gameplay Programmer, which requested that the applicant have experience doing "work within Unreal Engine 5." If the job listings are to be believed, this could have big implications for BioShock 4.
The Capabilities Of Unreal Engine 5
BioShock has always been known as a series for its film-like storytelling ambition and beautifully rendered worlds, sometimes leading to hopes that BioShock will get a movie adaptation one day. BioShock 4 could be a close as fans will ever get to seeing that dream come true, with Unreal Engine 5 able to render incredibly realistic next-gen graphics. Unreal Engine 5 allows for the use of 12k textures, as well as 8k and 4k. These textures are even able to change in-game depending on how closely the player is looking at an object, seen in a demo desert rendering released by Epic.
This could mean that BioShock 4 will forgo the more cartoonish and stylized graphics of BioShock Infinite for a more gritty, realistic look. Since BioShock 4 is rumored to have an open world, Unreal Engine 5 could see that world brought to life in unprecedented detail.
Hopefully the use of Unreal Engine 5 also gives fans a glimpse into the ambition of Cloud Chamber. With a series that has been dormant for as along as BioShock, there is always the risk that its attempted revival will look to the past too much. This is particularly true with BioShock. The departure of series creator Ken Levine from the franchise, for example, could easily lead to too great a focus on recreating the experience of the original three games instead of pushing the series into interesting new territory without its creator's guidance.
With an RPG-style dialogue system, open world, and use of Unreal Engine 5, however, it seems Cloud Chamber is trying to make BioShock 4 an extremely ambitious next-gen experience which could significantly depart from the original games. Ironically, this could be the best way for BioShock 4 to live up to the groundbreaking legacy of the original BioShock, even if it puts off some fans who were hoping to see the original experience recreated as closely as possible.
For now fans will have to wait and see how Cloud Chamber utilizes the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5. One thing is for sure, however — if BioShock 4 fails to stick the landing, it will not be for a lack of ambition. With the software still in early access, fans of BioShock should keep an eye on Unreal Engine 5 as new features are announced.
BioShock 4 is currently in development.