2K announced a few years ago that a new Bioshock title was in the works, but quelled the excitement by stating that it would not be released for several years. Since then, we haven't heard much more about the title, but a series of job postings have suggested that the franchise is heading in a new direction with an open-world setting.

Previous BioShock titles have been set in the enclosed spaces of the undersea city of Rapture and the floating city of Colombia's heights. The concept of an open-world BioShock 4 is very exciting, and the list shows some hints of it.

The ad, spotted by PCGamesN, was placed by Cloud Chamber, the new studio team tasked with carrying on Ken Levine's legacy; in a 2019 interview with GamesRadar+, studio head Kelley Gilmore confirmed that "immersive worlds" are part of Bioshock 4's "core design vision," adding:

"Environments have played an important role throughout BioShock's history and are incredibly important to the gameplay experience . There are many creative directions to explore, but you'll have to wait a little longer to see where we go next."

That direction is made clear in the job ads, particularly for a senior writer. The ad calls for candidates who can "weave impactful, character-driven stories in an open-world setting." The gameplay seems to be a bit more open, as side quests run parallel to the main storyline. The job description states that the selected applicant will "brainstorm primary and secondary mission content along with design," which sounds like a side quest to us.

The list of senior world designers is sprinkled with a few more hints, citing a game world that "feels alive and encourages players to stay and explore." They need to "design and create systemic world moments as well as custom-made quests that bring the game to life."

Finally, AI programmers must "push the boundaries of what is possible in interactive crowd systems" and "create a vision for meaningful AI urban crowd systems."

"BioShock 4" will be a departure from previous entries in the series. Keep in mind that development could take twists and turns along the way and that these visions could change, but it is enough to give us hope for what Cloud Chamber has in store.