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Last week, Ken Levine announced via blog post that he and all but seven of the Irrational Games team are leaving Irrational to start a small development team at Take-Two. This news was pretty devastating and surprising to fans of the BioShock series.
Since Levine is “winding down” Irrational, the future of the BioShock franchise is now in 2K’s hands. Let’s hope that they know just how special that franchise is and that fans will not tolerate a lackluster BioShock game.
The last time 2K (2K Marin, specifically) was in charge of developing a BioShock title, we got BioShock 2, a game many BioShock fans liked, but most felt it wasn’t nearly as groundbreaking as the original. Levine passed on BioShock 2 because he didn’t want the development team to repeat itself. He also said that he felt they had said all they wanted to say about Rapture. However, he obviously changed his mind, because BioShock Infinite’s story DLC, Burial at Sea, takes place in Rapture before its collapse, acting sort of as a prequel. It connects the original game with Infinite in a beautiful way, and now I can officially say I’ve gotten my fill of Rapture. I always wanted to see what Rapture was like before its demise.
So, what does the future hold for the BioShock series? A 2K spokesperson had this to say in an interview with Polygon:
“The BioShock universe remains a rich creative canvas for many untold stories, and we look forward to exploring the next BioShock experience.”
It’s pretty clear that another BioShock game is inevitable. Will it ever be as good as the original BioShock or BioShock Infinite? It’s hard to say. However, it is safe to say that 2K is aware of the importance of keeping BioShock alive and well.
What are your ideas for another BioShock game? Do you want to go back to Rapture, Columbia, or somewhere new entirely? Sound off in the comments below.