News 2K founds Cloud Chamber studio to work on Bioshock franchise

[prudis]

2K today announced the founding of Cloud Chamber™, the newest, wholly owned game development studio under the Company’s publishing label. A collective of storytellers eager to push the frontlines of interactive entertainment by making unique, entertaining and thoughtful experiences that engage the world, Cloud Chamber will build its team at two locations: 2K’s San Francisco Bay Area headquarters in Novato, Calif., as well as in Montréal, Québec, which marks the first-ever Canadian office for a 2K studio. In addition, 2K announced that Cloud Chamber has started to work on the next iteration of the globally acclaimed BioShock® franchise, which will be in development for the next several years.

“As we continue growing our product portfolio, we remain inspired by opportunities to invest further in our valuable IP, great people and their collective, long-term potential,” said David Ismailer, President of 2K. “BioShock is one of the most beloved, critically praised and highest-rated franchises of the last console generation*. We can’t wait to see where its powerful narrative and iconic, first-person shooter gameplay head in the future with our new studio team at Cloud Chamber leading the charge.”

A 22-year industry veteran with more than 40 games shipped to date, Kelley Gilmore will serve as Cloud Chamber’s Global Studio Head and be the first woman in 2K history to launch and lead a development studio. Her wealth of experience transcends executive production, marketing direction and public relations management, including nearly two decades of service to another of 2K’s wholly owned studios, Firaxis Games, on franchises such as Sid Meier’s Civilization® and XCOM®. Her role is based in Novato.


“We founded Cloud Chamber to create yet-to-be-discovered worlds – and their stories within – that push the boundaries of what is possible in the video game medium,” said Kelley Gilmore, Global Studio Head, Cloud Chamber. “Our team believes in the beauty and strength of diversity, in both the makeup of the studio and the nature of its thinking. We are a deeply experienced group of game makers, including many responsible for BioShock’s principal creation, advancement and longstanding notoriety, and honored to be part of the 2K family as stewards of this iconic franchise.”


Gilmore has tapped Ken Schachter to be Cloud Chamber’s Studio Manager in Montréal. An executive with extensive experience in development, production, technology and creative roles, Schachter will also be an ambassador for both the studio and 2K in establishing a significant Company presence in Montréal. Prior to joining 2K, Schachter served as General Manager for Zynga in Toronto, as well as founded independent game developer and publisher Trapdoor. He has also held notable positions with companies such as Gameloft, Autodesk and more.


2K Announces Newly-Formed Studio – Cloud Chamber™ – Developing Next Iteration in Acclaimed BioShock® Franchise | Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

 

[Aelphaeis Mangarae]

In a press release, Gilmore noted that “many responsible for BioShock’s principal creation” were brought on to work at Cloud Chamber. She further commented to GameDaily, “Several members of our team played key roles in other BioShock titles, and are now leading development at Cloud Chamber, including Hoagy de la Plante (Creative Director), Scott Sinclair (Art Director) and Jonathan Pelling (Design Director), which infuses us with some serious BioShock DNA.

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They call it a brand new studio, but it's been around since 2017. It is next door to Hanger 13, and was first mentioned in an article on Hangar 13 in 2018.

 

[freshVeggie]

Hopefully more BioShock 1 and less Infinite. While it was a great game, having so few weapons on me and the powers were a letdown.
Setting didn't do it for me either.

 

[Aelphaeis Mangarae]

Long before today’s announcement that a new company called Cloud Chamber will develop the next BioShock, 2K had contracted an outside studio to do it. In 2015, Parkside was entering development at Certain Affinity, the Austin, Texas-based studio best known for helping out on huge shooters like Halo and Call of Duty.

This was a big opportunity for Certain Affinity, which was founded in 2006 by ex-Bungie developer Max Hoberman and had mostly subsisted on contract work for external publishers. By the end of 2016, however, 2K had pulled the project out of Austin and decided to take the next BioShock in-house, rebooting it in the process. (2K did not immediately respond to a request for comment this morning.)

It’s not clear why Certain Affinity’s version of Parkside was cancelled—we’ve heard different versions of the story from different people—but by 2017, 2K had moved it to Novato, California, where the publisher’s corporate offices are based. In the coming months, 2K started quietly recruiting staff, including some who had worked on Mafia III at Hangar 13 next door.

Sources: The New BioShock Has Been In The Works For Years

This morning, video game publisher 2K announced that it had formed a new studio to work on a brand new BioShock game, the fourth in the popular sci-fi series. It won’t be out for “several years,” the publisher said. What 2K didn’t say is that this project has already been in the works since at […]

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