So far, there's still very little known about the upcoming BioShock 4. Most of the public information about it has come from job listings and pure speculation as opposed to official press releases from the studio or the game's publisher. When the game was announced in late 2019, 2K made it clear that it still had a long road ahead of it before it would be coming out. The most recent rumor surrounding the project is that BioShock 4 is going to be a PS5 exclusive.
It's important to remember that because this is just a rumor, there's no way of knowing if BioShock 4 is indeed going to be an exclusive. If it is, however, there's plenty of good that could come out of an exclusivity deal as well as some less favorable elements. Here are some pros and cons for if BioShock 4 is a PS5 exclusive.
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When any new game comes out for the PlayStation 5, fans rush to see what kind of DualSense features have been integrated into the gameplay. Some games have left a lot to be desired on that front, but those that have used it in meaningful ways feel like they're really doing something fresh. Most of the time, the games using the DualSense well are PS5 exclusives like Astro's Playroom and Returnal. If BioShock 4 were to be an exclusive, hopefully, it would use the DualSense controller to elevate the experience. Whether that's by using the enhanced rumble feature to give each plasmid/vigor a unique feel or segmenting the triggers similar to Returnal to open the door for more button inputs.
When the series made its initial debut, BioShock was an Xbox exclusive appearing on the Xbox 360 nearly a whole year before it came to the PS3. Since then, the following two games released on all consoles at the same time, however, if BioShock 4 is a PlayStation exclusive, it would be playing a reverse game of keep-away. As PS3 owners might attest to the year when they couldn't play the original BioShock, not being able to play the latest games isn't always a great feeling. It feels both new consoles are a little starved for new releases, so if the Series X were to lose a big name like BioShock, it might hurt the reputation of the franchise in the long run in the eyes of Xbox owners.
On the flip side of that, if Xbox were to lose access to Bioshock 4, it might inspire a better lineup of games in the year that it releases. As Sony and Microsoft compete, they're incentivized to make better games for their consoles, so if Bioshock 4 ends up exclusively on PS5s, it might make for better games coming exclusively to the Series X. There's also the possibility that the game might be a timed exclusive and end up coming to Xbox in the months or years following its release.
PlayStation is already known for its high-quality single-player exclusive games and after recent press releases, it seems like Sony Interactive Entertainment is looking to continue expanding its number of exclusive IPs. Adding a name like BioShock to the list of exclusives would be huge because of how influential the series has been for the entire gaming landscape. Not that the PS5 needs any help selling units, but BioShock 4 might be incentive enough for on-the-fence fans to take the plunge and buy the console. Despite its history of multiplatform releases, if BioShock 4 is received well enough, it might change the public's perception of BioShock being a great game series into it being a great PlayStation game series.
BioShock 4 is currently in development.
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