Struggling BioShock 4 Studio Taps Ex-Diablo Boss Rod Fergusson To ‘Rework’ The Game

With a reputation for being a closer, Rod Fergusson helped get the last troubled BioShock game out the door. Can he do it again? The outgoing head of the Diablo franchise at Blizzard revealed on Tuesday that he’s joined 2K Games’ struggling Cloud Chamber studio, as BioShock 4 development stalls and layoffs hit the Montreal-based team.

In an memo to staff shared with Kotaku, 2K Games president David Ismailer confirmed that Fergusson would be head of the BioShock franchise, including helping to oversea its movie spin-off that’s currently in production at Netflix. But he also said the team at Cloud Chamber would be downsized as BioShock 4 is reworked. “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,” he wrote.

Fergusson announced earlier this month he was leaving Blizzard after five years, having joined just prior to the launch of Diablo 4 and before Microsoft, his old employer, purchased Activision Blizzard. He was similarly brought in to help ship BioShock Infinite, which suffered multiple delays under a chaotic development process led by series creator Ken Levine at Irrational Games over a decade ago. “I’m returning to 2K as Head of the BioShock Franchise, leading Cloud Chamber!” Fergusson wrote on Bluesky. “I’m deeply grateful for the work the studio has done so far, and I’m committed to building a BioShock game we’ll be proud of and that our players will love.”

Not long after it launched, Levine left Irrational, and parent publisher 2K Games announced it was shutting the entire studio down. Years later, it was revealed that a new studio in Canada called Cloud Chamber would be making BioShock 4 while Levine worked on Judas, a very BioShock-looking sci-fi immersive sim, at his Ghost Story Games startup. Despite both being revealed a while ago, each project is still MIA.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that BioShock 4 had suffered a setback and leadership change after a recent negative internal review. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick claims the game won’t be canceled, however. “It’s going to come out,” he said in a recent interview. “That I can say hand on heart, without question.”

Fergusson, a long-time producer, is a known hater of the phrase “it’s ready when it’s ready.” “It takes the agency away from the team,” he told Polygon last year. “Saying ‘it’s ready when it’s ready’ means the team doesn’t have control over what they’re building. Mind, I’m giving you one person’s philosophy. But you control the scope. You control the schedule. You control a bunch of things. The idea that the game has to reveal itself somehow, with some unknown amount of content…I just find ‘it’s ready when it’s ready’ to be so passive.”

Here’s the full email Ismailer sent staff today about the changes:

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.