Cloud Chamber just laid off more than 80 employees as part of a major reorganization aimed at getting the next BioShock back on track. The cuts affect both the Novato, California, and Montreal offices, reducing the roughly 250-person team by about a third. The move signals a major shift for the mysterious project that’s been in development since late 2019.
At the same time, the company appointed Rod Fergusson as the studio’s new head. The move signals a major shift for the mysterious project that’s been in development for over five years. Fergusson isn’t just any executive. He’s earned a reputation as the guy publishers call when big games need to ship.
His resume reads like a rescue mission log. He helped push BioShock Infinite across the finish line when development was struggling at Irrational Games. He turned The Coalition into a reliable Gears of War factory. Most recently, he oversaw Diablo IV‘s successful launch at Blizzard before leaving the company earlier this year.
The timing feels deliberate. Cloud Chamber was formed in 2019 specifically to create the next BioShock. Since then, the studio has remained almost completely silent. No gameplay. No screenshots. Not even an official title. Just occasional job listings hinting at an Unreal Engine project with narrative systems and an open world.
Five years of radio silence isn’t normal, even for AAA development. The original BioShock took about three years to make. Infinite famously struggled through six years of development hell before Fergusson helped ship it. Now the fourth game appears to be following a similar trajectory.
The restructuring suggests 2K is shifting the project into a leaner phase focused on core development. Studios often scale down to refine their vision before ramping back up for full production. The addition of a production “closer” indicates the publisher wants to impose stricter deadlines and clearer milestones. Or it might be part of the broader industry trend of downsizing that’s hit virtually every major publisher since 2023.
The fixer is in
Fergusson’s appointment feels like history repeating itself. Back in 2012, Ken Levine’s ambitious vision for BioShock Infinite had spiraled into endless revisions and blown deadlines. 2K brought in Fergusson to set boundaries and push the game toward release. It worked. The game shipped in 2013 to critical acclaim, even if some of Levine’s grander ideas had to be trimmed.
This is what Fergusson does. At Epic Games, he kept the Gears of War train running on time. At The Coalition, he delivered two mainline Gears games without major delays. He’s the anti-auteur, a producer who values shipping over endless iteration. In an industry where perfectionism often leads to development hell, that’s a valuable skill.
The big question now is what state BioShock 4 is actually in. If 2K is bringing in their closer, it suggests they want the game out sooner rather than later. But without any public showing of the game, it’s impossible to know if we’re looking at a 2025 release or something further out. One thing seems certain: The days of Cloud Chamber working in complete secrecy are probably numbered.
