The new game from the creator of BioShock is in big trouble

It is almost 8 years since the actual dissolution of the Irrational Games studio, which gave the world the BioShock series. After the release of BioShock Infinite and both DLCs, the creator of this legendary brand, Ken Levine, basically kept only the skeleton of the whole team and founded a completely new studio called Ghost Story Games. A studio that did not release a single game even after 8 years. And why is that so? Journalist Jason Schreier from the magazine decided to find out Bloomberg, who interviewed a total of 15 current and former studio employees.

The whole thing can be summed up quite simply: The problem is Ken Levine himself, who is the head of the whole studio. Some employees claim that his managerial skills are very poor and he needs to constantly rework everything to create something perfect. Developers at Irrational Games also experienced such problems when creating BioShock Infinite, but in Ghost Story Games, which was paradoxically a much friendlier studio, everything took on a completely different dimension.

The game they’re still working on was originally supposed to be released in 2017, but the release is constantly being postponed as Levine invents new and new ideas while discarding the old ones. In addition, he wants to create something that is almost impossible – an ambitious game at the level of AAA titles, but in a small team. Due to Levin’s leadership, about half of the original founders, led by level designer Mike Snight, have already left the company.

Levine described the game itself as “lego stories.” It is supposed to be a title in which the experience of each player will be completely unique. The original prototype was a sci-fi shooter in the style of BioShock and took place on a mysterious space station inhabited by three factions. Each of them could be an ally, an enemy, or something in between. Depending on what the player did.

We don’t know what the game looks like today. However, it is clear that this is a very ambitious concept, which Take-Two probably still believes in despite the problematic developments. It leaves Levin complete freedom, and finances shouldn’t be a problem either. But this seems to be one of the cases where too much freedom is more to the detriment. It is not yet certain when and if we will see the game at all. One of the developers claims that it could come out in about two years, which would be an incredible 10 years since the beginning of development.

Finally, I would like to remind you that while the Ghost Story Games are working on a new IP, the newly formed Cloud Chamber team is creating a sequel to BioShock, which is supposed to be subtitled Isolation, and we should see the announcement in the first quarter of this year.

Ken Levine is often lauded as a genius — the creator of BioShock — but many who have worked with him describe him as a difficult boss who struggles to communicate his vision. His process, which involves frequently discarding months worth of work, has led to burnout and strife. pic.twitter.com/IpbNX8S7wr

– Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 3, 2022

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