Liz Albl recently took to Twitter and confirmed that she has joined Cloud Chamber Games as Narrative Lead on BioShock 4 (or whatever it ends up being called).

Albl has been involved in writing teams on a number of major projects over the years. According to her LinkedIn page, after starting out as a writing intern on Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, she was a writer on a number of other Ubisoft titles, including Far Cry 5 and Watch Dogs: Legion, following which she moved to Sucker Punch to serve as a senior writer on Ghost of Tsushima. Most recently, Albl was at Monolith Productions, where she worked on the upcoming Wonder Woman game for a period of nearly two years.

Details on BioShock 4 have been scant since it was officially announced in late 2019 that the game was in development. As per recent leaks, it will be set in a fictional 1960s Antarctic city called Borealis, while job listings have also suggested that the game is being developed using Unreal Engine 5.

Job listings have hinted at other details for the first person shooter as well, such as a potential open world setting, highly reactive environments, dialogue choices, and more.

The dream is real! So happy to announce I've joined Cloud Chamber as Narrative Lead on BIOSHOCK ⚡ pic.twitter.com/tdNfvar7x2

— Liz Albl (@mslizalbl) December 7, 2022

Over on Twitter, leaker @oopsleaks, who claimed in a previous leak that the game would be called BioShock Isolation, recently claimed that the long-awaited sequel’s development has run into some hurdles. Cloud Chamber has allegedly lost 40 developers, which includes leaks as well, some of whom left the studio of their own accord, while others were allegedly fired “for various reasons”.

The leaker claims that 2K Games is unhappy with the progress the project has made and the pace at which its development is moving along, which has brought about a “slight restructuring” at Cloud Chamber. The studio has apparently also started hiring new employees, and though the game is still scheduled to launch be the end of 2024, it’s announcement date has seemingly been pushed back.

As always with leaks of an unverified nature, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt for now, especially seeing as 2K Games and Cloud Chamber themselves have said next to nothing about BioShock 4 – or whatever it ends up being called – since having confirmed that it’s in development. We’ll keep an eye out for more details though, so stay tuned.

I’ve been told that some left on their own, some were fired for various reasons, nevertheless it’s not a ‘development hell’ but rather a ‘slight restructuring’. The studio has already started hiring new employees. It is likely that the announcement date may shift for this reason.

— Oops Leaks (@oopsleaks) February 15, 2022

In a recent Sacred Symbols video uploaded by journalist Colin Moriarty, it’s been claimed that BioShock 4 will take place in a fictional 1960s Antarctic city called Borealis. In its own report, VGC corroborates this detail, stating that it has heard the same from its own sources.

Moriarty also states that the development team at Cloud Chamber is well aware that the game will be compared to previous BioShock games and, more specifically, the works of series creator Ken Levine, suggesting that the developers are designing an experience very much in the same vein. Moriarty also claims that BioShock 4 is currently targeting a 2022 launch.

Another recent leak claimed that BioShock 4 will be called BioShock Isolation and will feature setting and story will revolve around two new cities, one on top of each other, with an announcement planned for sometime in 2022. Read more on that through here.

Previous job listings have also revealed potential new details on the next BioShock game. It seems to be using Unreal Engine 5 for its development, while listings have also made mention of an open world setting, the game taking place in a “new and fantastical world”, and a dialogue system, emergent AI systems, and more.

As shared over on Twitter by @oopsleaks, the new BioShock game will allegedly be called BioShock Isolation, for which a logo has also been shared- though the leaker says the game’s title could change in the future. BioShock Isolation will be developed on Unreal Engine 5, according to the leak, which is something that job listings have previously suggested as well. Meanwhile, the game’s development team is apparently comprised of several veterans of Irrational Games, the studio that developed the original BioShock and BioShock Infinite, as well as developed who have worked on AAA releases such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Mafia 3, Watch Dogs: Legion, and more.

Interestingly, the leak also provides a slide from the presentation that was supposedly used to pitch this new BioShock game, which, if accurate, reveals that the game’s dystopian setting and story will revolve around two new cities, one on top of each other.

The city on top is described as a “free and wealthy society led by a successful entrepreneur”, while the underground city is said to be “isolated” and “separated from the upper world”, and is supposedly “led by a dictator waging a vertical war”. A border known as the “flipside zone” separates the two cities and is described as “the hottest point” in the ongoing conflict between the two cities.

While Cloud Chamber and 2K Games themselves have said next to nothing about the next BioShock game in an official capacity, previous job listings have hinted at some details, such as the game having an open world setting, taking place in a “new and fantastical world”, and featuring a dialogue system, emergent AI systems, and more.

The leak in question here claims that an announcement for BioShock Isolation will arrive within the first three months of 2022, so if that is indeed the case, we’ll know soon enough how accurate these details are (or aren’t). Until then, we’ll keep an eye out for new updates, so stay tuned.

#Bioshock Isolation (title may change) logo variant

– Set in a new-to-franchise isolated dystopian city
– Unreal Engine 5
– Developed by Irrational Games veterans and people who worked on Watch Dogs: Legion, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Mafia 3, Deus Ex: MD
– Announcement Q1 2022 pic.twitter.com/BwyXKp1LKK

— Oops Leaks (@oopsleaks) November 17, 2021

A slide from the new #Bioshock game pitching presentation.

There might be two cities with radically different ideology, one of them located underground right below the other, both sharing a "flipside" border zone with an unleashed "vertical war". pic.twitter.com/Cy6fddJmV1

— Oops Leaks (@oopsleaks) November 27, 2021