Ken Levine on his departure from the BioShock franchise

Ken Levine, the acclaimed game developer, stepped away from the BioShock series after 2013’s BioShock Infinite. While the series continues with BioShock 4, it will do so without his involvement. This article explores the reasons behind his decision to leave the franchise and his new project, Judas.

The decision to leave

Levine said BioShock remains "very important" to him and that he feels "incredibly lucky" to have worked on a franchise that means so much to so many people. However, he explained that he decided to step back partly because he realized he "didn't have much more to say in that world." That led him to reflect on the pitfalls of working on established franchises.

"A franchise can own you if you're not careful. It can define you. It was scary, risky, and crazy to walk away from such a successful franchise," Levine said. He stressed that his decision did not come from a lack of love for BioShock. Instead, he wanted to challenge himself and his team in a different way. "Things can own you if you hold onto them too tightly instead of the other way around," he added.

The future of BioShock

Development on BioShock 4 continues under Cloud Chamber, a studio focused on expanding the franchise without Levine’s creative input. Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, the parent company of 2K, noted that the developers have "lost years" to creative "dead ends." All of this has contributed to the delay of the new BioShock adventure.

Levine has previously speculated about what defines a BioShock game, and how during the development of BioShock Infinite he wondered which direction the series should take. He was not interested in making a BioShock set in the future, nor in following the formula used by other franchises such as Call of Duty.

New project: Judas

Levine is now busy developing Judas, a project he has long been leading at Ghost Story Games. He has revealed that Judas contains "a lot of the DNA elements" of BioShock, which is visible in the videos and footage that have already been released. This new game promises a fresh experience while still retaining elements that will appeal to BioShock fans.

Although Levine has left the development of BioShock 4 to other developers, his influence on the franchise remains felt. Fans can look ahead to both new BioShock experiences and the exciting new project Judas.