BioShock 2 due in fiscal Q4 2009 from 2K Marin

by Justin McElroy { Mar 11th 2008 at 4:40PM }

After sales of brainy first-person shooter BioShock were so strong, a sequel seemed like all but a foregone conclusion. 2K Games put any remaining doubt to bed today, revealing that BioShock 2 is due to hit shelves in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2009, which would put it between August and October of 2009. The game is being developed not by Ken Levine's 2K Boston, but rather 2K Marin, which reportedly has some BioShock staffers on board. At this point, we don't know what (if any) involvement Levine will have, nor do we know what systems it will be on.

The info came in an investor relations report released by the company today. Even though we figured the game was in the works, we have to admit we're a little surprised by the window, just two years after its predecessor. But you're not going to hear us complaining. If it means more Big Daddies and Little Sisters, we don't really care where we get it.

Tags: 2k, 2k-games, 2k-marin, 2kgames, bioshock, bioshock-2, breakingnews, ken-levine, take-two

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

fischju @ Mar 11th 2008 4:46PM

What would make a good #2: A prequel that puts you in the shoes of somebody that was around at the beginning of Rapture, maybe even Ryan. You build the city, and you watch everything to to hell. No matter what you do, it continues to decline, and you get to see first hand what your character in Bioshock 1 saw the aftermath of.

Andrew Yoon @ Mar 11th 2008 4:47PM

That actually sounds really good. I'd buy that.

Arteen @ Mar 11th 2008 4:58PM

SimRapture? No matter how you play, you lose.

CONFUSEDgam3r @ Mar 11th 2008 6:30PM

LOL! "SimRapture!"

I think I've read this exact comment somewhere before, but that is a great idea.

xFenixKnightx @ Mar 11th 2008 4:47PM

Motherfloodpucking awesome!!! =D

KeenCommander @ Mar 11th 2008 4:50PM

Could be good but, especially given how long Bioshock was in development, it will probably be a half-finished mess. Don't get me wrong, I loved Bioshock, but it seems like they're rushing the development on this one just for the sake of cashing in, not to mention that the lack of Ken Levine's presence could be disastrous. It seems like a hard story to continue, too. I expect they'll either have it as a prequel or have the remaining (non-splicer) people in Rapture trying to rebuild. I just hope every developer takes notice of the success of this, so that all FPS games start to be as good as Bioshock, but I doubt that will happen since more complicated game = more money and longer development. People treat Bioshock like it's going to revolutionize the industry, but all games should have been that good since System Shock 2 and the game industry regressed, rather than moving forward. I'm afraid the same thing will happen now, though at least we've got Deus Ex 3 to look forward to.

fischju @ Mar 11th 2008 4:52PM

If it is still in Rapture, they can use almost all of the same models, textures, sounds, ect from the first one, drastically cutting the time it would take to make.

Zertoss @ Mar 11th 2008 4:56PM

Since it's being targeted at the same platforms/hardware, they don't need to reinvent the wheel. The same engine that ran the first iteration (which was amazing) should suffice for a sequel, with improvements of course. That should cut development time down tremendously.

KeenCommander @ Mar 11th 2008 5:15PM

The same engine, yes, but I at least would be dissappointed if all the textures and models looked the same. Sure there's some stuff that can be recycled and some stuff that needs to be the same for consistency, but we are talking about a complete new game here, not Bioshock Episode 1. Not to mention that it would be nice to see some actual innovation, not same game - new characters, plasmids, and environments.

Mr Khan @ Mar 11th 2008 6:01PM

Plus i bet that a lot of that extra development time was involved in concept/scenario creation, as much as actual, full-scale development

OMGOMG @ Mar 11th 2008 4:51PM

If Ken Levine isn't involved=out.

OMGOMG @ Mar 11th 2008 4:53PM

It's like having No Country For Old Men direct by Brett Ratner.

Tranando @ Mar 11th 2008 4:53PM

By late 2008, it would have to also be on PS3, as that will be half your market instantly missing.

Microswirl @ Mar 11th 2008 4:57PM

Objection! Relevance? I motion for an immediate banning.

NATO_Duke @ Mar 11th 2008 5:13PM

Oh thats Tranando for you - beating that PS3 fanboy crap like a dead horse.

KeenCommander @ Mar 11th 2008 8:50PM

Sony already lost. I don't know why the fanboys don't get this. The best that can happen is a comeback to do reasonably well. They lost for the same reason the original XBox could never overtake the PS2: The PS2 had too much momentum behind it, just like the 360 does now. Sony already lost out on first place, now it's just a matter of seeing if they can at least make the best of it.

deaftly @ Mar 11th 2008 5:27PM

haha @ half the market, good one.

Oh you were serious?

/fail

Conda @ Mar 11th 2008 4:59PM

"After strong sales ... were so strong,..."

forget what you were typing mid-sentence?

Yuccadude @ Mar 11th 2008 5:24PM

Strong sales are strong!

Justin McElroy @ Mar 11th 2008 5:58PM

Not so much that I forgot. I was just rushing to get it out. FOR YOU, THE PEOPLE.

Thanks for the heads up.

Conda @ Mar 11th 2008 6:25PM

yah thats what I was getting at, rushing to get it finished so forgot your exact word placement while working on it :)

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Mar 11th 2008 5:04PM

This is a great day. New Sims 3 info (with ton of screens) and a Bioshock 2 announcement.

Jeff @ Mar 11th 2008 5:09PM

This is why the industry is filled with so many shitty sequels. Look at everyone eating this up! Look at the frigging Joystiq staff eating this up!

This is a quick cash-in on what was a great game. The guy responsible for the greatness of the original isn't even fucking involved anymore!

NATO_Duke @ Mar 11th 2008 5:14PM

So we should be pissed in advanced and not want another game like Bioshock? That doesn't make sense to me.

There are a lot of new IP's that blow worse than sequels.

RobLink (McElroy Defence Force) @ Mar 11th 2008 5:22PM

I share your trepidation, but it wasn't only Ken Levine that made Bioshock - many, many people were involved there, and if you can retain a lot of the original talent, you'll get a lot of effort put into the sequel.

RobLink (McElroy Defence Force) @ Mar 11th 2008 5:23PM

Also, sequels aren't all bad. I'm a Zelda fan - that pretty much requires that I love sequels of a sort.

Deck @ Mar 11th 2008 5:29PM

I agree Jeff. I posted something similar over on xbox360fanboy pertaining to this issue...

The games industry IS filled with a bunch of horrible sequels and that seems to be what the entire industry is right now, all sequels. Yea, there are some new IPs. Sure not EVERY sequel is bad (COD4!) but... so many, and most are.

Gone are the days of a single game rising to the top and being a excellent game but thats all there was. The one game. It was THE game to play, as there wasn't anymore or anything else like it. Those days are gone, now its just the days of the sequel. And honestly, it is really rather frustrating.

Kodros @ Mar 11th 2008 6:01PM

@ Jeff and Deck - If you have fun playing it then who gives a crap if it is a sequel?

"Gone are the days of a single game rising to the top and being a excellent game but thats all there was."
Like what? Mario? Zelda? Pacman? Street Fighter? What "days" are you talking about? Doom? SimCity?

There always has been and always will be sequels in every form of entertainment.

Mr Khan @ Mar 11th 2008 6:10PM

I feel that the automatic opposition to sequels is well unwarranted. Certainly sequels can lead to stagnation, but they're not inherently bad

However, in this case (sequel handled by different development team), its likely.

Jeff @ Mar 11th 2008 8:21PM

Maybe I'm acting rashly, but I doubt it. The greatness of the story and atmosphere is what did it for me with BioShock-- mostly the story. I personally found the gameplay extremely bland and lacking for a PC game, and the RPG elements should have been more developed (ie: an inventory system!).

I don't feel like any other story in the same universe could be nearly as good.

343 Guilty Fart @ Mar 11th 2008 5:25PM

Bioshock 2: The Search for Shock

Jake11 @ Mar 11th 2008 5:58PM

bioshock 2: shock harder?

Justin McElroy @ Mar 11th 2008 5:59PM

Guys!

The joke is obviously BioShock 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Shock? Electric? It's right there!

deaftly @ Mar 11th 2008 5:25PM

Hopefully we'll get some multiplayer this time around.

XanthouS @ Mar 11th 2008 5:29PM

Because every game needs online multiplayer! And alienz! And gunz!

deaftly @ Mar 11th 2008 5:31PM

and boobies.

Geist @ Mar 11th 2008 7:17PM

The only multiplayer that should be present is co-op, a la System Shock 2.

Altairio @ Mar 11th 2008 5:32PM

Yeah man. I mean look at Resident Evil 4 and God of War 2. What a couple of shatty cash in hack jobs.

Pretty Obvious @ Mar 13th 2008 3:04PM

This will prob be a sequal, Ryan is not actually dead....

Scott @ Mar 11th 2008 5:58PM

I am a little worried since its not by the same people. But if Marin has people from the Bioshock staff on board it shouldn't be to bad. I wish they would have kept the same team though

Alex M @ Mar 11th 2008 6:05PM

Didn't anybody notice that 4th Quarter of Fiscal 2009 is actually February 2009 - April 2009?

Alex M @ Mar 11th 2008 6:11PM

And then I get it wrong too! What I wrote is the First quarter 2010! Fourth 2009 is November 2008 to January 2009. So, Chistmas season.

forestofdeath @ Mar 11th 2008 8:32PM

bleh, count me out.

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Mar 12th 2008 12:28AM

I dunno: Bioshock 2 would be fun if they revealed new things about that world of Rapture, but at the same time, I felt that Bioshock was already a beautifully wrapped package and that it wouldn't feel right to try to add-on some milking in there.

But that's just my opinion: perhaps there's still a lot more depth involved with that universe which the developers didn't get the opportunity to implement.

D-Train1183 @ Mar 12th 2008 1:59AM

Seems a little quick to me. I really wish Irrational was still making this. Bioshock is one of my favorite games of all-time I really hope they treat this with the utmost respect. Not what Activision did to Call of Duty (parts 3 and 5 by Treyarch). Or EA (just name any of their many piss poor sequels). Take Two, please treat Bioshock with the same respect you treat GTA give those guys the time money and freedom to make the game we all want to play.

CB @ Mar 12th 2008 2:01AM

I just hope they don't fuck this up. :(

CubeGuy @ Mar 12th 2008 3:31AM

I get so confused when we start talking about the different 2K teams.

Konstantin @ Mar 12th 2008 5:20AM

This is ghey.
Who wants BS2?????
Get us SS3 instead. No more splicing doo doo.
No more religious + ideological mixups.
Give us the many at Tau Cety 5 with Suarez and his whore as new antihero. Back to Goggles and PSI amp and the yellow wrench duo.
Korenchkin reborn as a mega Rumbler. Crash site of the VonBraun on the planet surface as the starting point. Another capital ship that picks up the signal and tries to help and lands many miles away and the hero struggles throughout the planet and then through the infested decks of the rescue capital ship. Shodan personified as the Bekka (Suarez's whore) struggling against you and the many with an occasional truce for a strategic point.
More cyberimplants and some though areas where Shodan denies the cyberimplants at one point of the plot.
Tau Cety 5 colonists are a bunch of mercs that where banned from their home planet that also get in your way either you must rescue some or fight the infected ones of escape some of them who were recruited by Shodan to kill you.
The badly wounded hero barely goes through the rescue capital ship decks to find and empty launch pad and uses it to get into the space while puts himself in cryosleep to heal himself. Add more twist as you wish.

NOW GIVE ME THAT!

Konstantin @ Mar 12th 2008 5:45AM

SS3 sequel continues:
Make the cyberimplants obsolete if you want, Goggles could use the research lab implant alone to analyze the nano structure/composition/whatever of the Tau Cety 5's flora and fauna and merge that into his body as implants (for the BioShock factor). Use the planet's ores (crystal shard comes to mind) and process them at some locations for money/whatever. FULL USE OF AN INVENTORY SYSTEM. I hope that is clear enough. Occasional service droid here and there spooks you around the corner and or falls from a tree or something. Instead of one secondary character that is on a radio guiding you use many lesser ones whom join forces with you to walk a part of a map together and make them invariably die or reveal their true form as infested by the many or Shodans drone.
Distort timespace continuum for some weird plot twists as you wish.
OK?

BS2 cant be because a bunch of whales were mating in the proximity of Rapture and since the whales sing quite hardcore while in orgasmic resonance the windows shattered and the rooms filled with water and collapsed. Thats it. Caput. No more BS.

Mikeu @ Mar 12th 2008 9:27AM

Why does a game called Bioshock have to have anything to do with Rapture? Seems like all there was to say about Rapture had been said...the sequel could deal with plasmid technology running amok in the real world, or something.

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