Rumored BioShock 4 screenshot shows off some new powers and a very punchy-looking shotgun

An apparent early BioShock 4 screenshot has leaked, offering a look at UI elements, various powers, and a punchy shotgun.

The image, which was originally shared by MP1st, reportedly comes from “a 2K visual artist,” but the outlet isn’t sharing the name or online profile of the artist “for the sake of privacy.” It’s also thought to be from a 2021 build of the game, so there’s every chance it’s not entirely up to date.

The picture doesn’t give away much. Visually, the main event is the central object, which suggests something of a return to the series’ classic art-deco look, and also seems to be holding up a flaming sphere. There are so many things that this could be, so few of which might still be present in the game all these years later, that I’m not prepared to even guess at what’s going on here.

What’s a little more interesting, however, is the stuff around the edges. There’s a very punchy-looking weapon, dubbed the ‘Ricochet Shotgun’, which comes complete with a big fat barrel and some pleasing glowing elements that beef it up nicely. On the other side, there’s what appears to be three powers, reminiscent of the plasmids and vigors from previous BioShock games.

A magnet, a lightning bolt, and a stopwatch all feature in the icons attached to those powers. I’m a little more prepared to take a guess at what’s going on with those – one power likely pulls either enemies or metal objects towards the player, while the lightning bolt seems likely to deal some decent electric damage. Given the stopwatch symbol’s activation via both the LB and RB buttons, it looks like a more powerful ability, and I’d suggest it’s probably bullet time.

As ever, early in-progress screenshots – particularly those that are hard to even identify – are rarely indicative of the final project, and much is likely to have changed by the time BioShock 4 actually arrives. There’s still no real sense of when that might be – it’s been four years since the game’s announcement, but developer Cloud Chamber recently said it was “ramping up”  development. Either way, the team seems likely to be beaten to the punch by original series creator Ken Levine, whose new game, Judas, is set to launch by March 2025.

Levine recently revealed that BioShock was nearly canceled just before launch, and even getting it off the ground in the fist place was a struggle.