If you still fondly remember the Bioshock games for their gorgeous environments and story telling, then you're in luck, because another game in the beloved franchise is in the works. It'll also give you the freedom to really explore the world that Cloud Chamber is making, because it will be entirely open world.
PCGamesN dug up this detail using a series of new job openings at the developer behind this next Bioshock game. It's looking for an AI programmer, UI/UX designer, a tools programmer, senior world designer, a senior technical designer, and a senior writer. While those are all pretty typical for this kind of role, Cloud Chamber's senior writer will need to have the experience to write "Impactful, character-driven stories in an open world setting."
The only person with more impact on the story and scope of the game will be the lead writer, whom the senior writer will report directly to. Together they'll be building the main story of the game, as well as designing primary and secondary mission content across that open world.
There are further clues in the AI programmer job description, where it says that they'll be responsible for building an "urban crowd system" and a "systemic tribal ecology of a sometimes hostile AI." That certainly sounds like something that would be best suited to an open world where AI and player can roam freely.
Details about the setting or time period of Bioshock 4 remain under wraps for now, and with the game at a relatively early stage of development still, we wouldn't expect to learn too much more this year. Perhaps look to an end of 2022, or early 2023 release.
