2K Games scrapped Certain Affinity’s BioShock concept, claims report

A report from Kotaku states that the new BioShock game has been in the works for almost five years, and a portion of that time was spent at Certain Affinity, but publisher 2K Games ended up scrapping the studio’s work.

Certain Affinity is an American developer that has collaborated with other companies on the Call of Duty, Halo, and Doom games. It also helped port Left 4 Dead to the Xbox 360 and produced its own titles, Age of Booty and Crimson Alliance. A storied history with experience in first person shooters, and given its success and continued partnerships, it would make sense to offer Certain Affinity the opportunity to make a BioShock sequel.

The project—codenamed Parkside—began to take shape at the studio in 2015. It wouldn’t last. Kotaku’s sources said that 2K Games scrapped Certain Affinity’s BioShock concept and decided to reboot development with one of its own subsidiary studios. The reasons behind this move are still unknown, but the project had reportedly been revived in Novato, California, in 2017. This let 2K Games hire new developers to work on Parkside, including a couple of Hangar 13 staff members. 

Now, the publisher has officially revealed the new BioShock game and that it will be helmed by the newly formed Cloud Chamber. BioShock developers Hoagy de la Plante, Scott Sinclair, and Jonathan Pelling have been brought on to bring the project to life, along with global studio head, Kelley Gilmore. Kotaku makes the point that the BioShock games tend to produce a pattern with their respective producers. BioShock underwent serious alterations and amendments with developer Irrational Games, and BioShock Infinite was sent out into the wild after copious cuts and reboots. Irrational Games closed its doors only twelve months after the launch, and BioShock 2 developer 2K Marin dissolved with little to no acknowledgement from the publisher. It is hoped that BioShock 4 breaks the mould, in more ways than one.