BioShock Studio Faces Layoffs, Now Led By Ex-Diablo Boss Rod Fergusson

BioShock Studio Faces Layoffs, Now Led By Ex-Diablo Boss Rod Fergusson

The BioShock series is like the Kennedys of video games; it appears to be cursed with bad luck. Despite being one of the best-selling franchises in video game history, BioShock’s team, Cloud Chamber, is currently undergoing management rearrangements and layoffs after a series of stalls in development.

Cloud Chamber is a California- and Quebec-based studio owned by Take-Two Interactive. The studio was founded in 2019, two years after the original developer of the BioShock series, Irrational Games, was shut down.

The newest installment, BioShock 4, has been in development since 2019, though little has been revealed about the title since its announcement. At the start of August, the game failed a review by executives at 2K Games, resulting in the firing of studio head Kelley Gilmore and the repositioning of creative director Hogarth de la Plante to a publishing role. At the time, Cloud Chamber staff worried that layoffs would follow. Today this was confirmed.

In a Bluesky post, Jason Schreier reported “an unspecified number of staff” would be laid off from the studio. Moreover, Rod Fergusson, former boss of Diablo IV, has been appointed as the new head of Cloud Chamber.

Back in 2012, Fergusson joined Irrational Games to help get BioShock Infinite out the door. This solidified Fergusson’s reputation as a “closer” for games struggling to reach the finish line. Now, he is tasked with overseeing the completion of the series’ next installment, which will entail overhauls to the game’s narrative and, unfortunately, team downsizing. Fergusson will also be in charge of series expansions like the BioShock movie spin-off currently in production at Netflix.

Here is the email sent to Cloud Chamber staff by 2K Games president David Ismailer, according to Kotaku:

“BioShock is woven deeply into the fabric of 2K. It’s one of our most beloved franchises and respecting its legacy and meeting our fans’ expectations is critical to its future success.

Work on the next BioShock game has been underway for several years. 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.

I know this is tough news for everyone. If your role is being affected, you’ll hear from your manager or studio leadership today with details on severance, career services and support resources. There is no easy way to do this, but we hope to do whatever we can to support you through this.  I want to thank each of you for your dedication and hard work.

I also want to share an important studio leadership update. After an extensive search, I’m excited to announce Rod Fergusson will be leading Cloud Chamber as the new Head of the BioShock Franchise. Rod is an industry veteran with a proven history of critical and commercial success, including BioShock Infinite, Gears of War, and Diablo.  Rod rejoins us from Blizzard, where he was GM of the Diablo franchise and launched Diablo IV – Blizzard’s fastest-selling game ever.

As Head of the BioShock Franchise, Rod will lead Cloud Chamber and oversee the development of the next BioShock game, as well as franchise extensions including our film partnership with Netflix. We will share more about Rod’s onboarding and how these changes will take shape in the coming days and weeks.  Rod and I worked together 10+ years ago and I am grateful he has chosen to return to lead our BioShock efforts.

I recognize that today is a day of mixed emotions. We’re excited to have Rod joining us, and are equally grateful to everyone at Cloud Chamber who has helped us get this far. These changes are rooted in 2K’s firm confidence in BioShock as one of the most beloved franchises, and our commitment to deliver the best game in franchise history.”

 

 
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