Time out

Irrational Games has pushed back the release of BioShock Infinite until 26th February, 2013. The massively anticipated first-person adventure had originally been scheduled to release in October, but the game will unfortunately miss that date.

In a frank exchange with fans, Irrational Games gaffer Ken Levine said:

When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing. Since then, we’ve come to realize that some specific tweaks and improvements will make Infinite into something even more extraordinary.

Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need, we’ve decided to move the game’s release to February 26, 2013. We wanted to let our loyal (and very patient!) fans know this as soon as possible.

I won’t kid you: BioShock Infinite is a very big game, and we’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter. We had a similar experience with the original BioShock, which was delayed several months as our original ship date drew near. Why? Because the Big Daddies weren’t the Big Daddies you’ve since come to know and love. Because Andrew Ryan’s golf club didn’t have exactly the right swing. Because Rapture needed one more coat of grimy Art Deco.

The same principle now applies to BioShock Infinite.

Ken Levine also noted that BioShock Infinite won’t be on display at this year’s E3 or GamesCom. He explained that preparing for such events takes time away from development, and the studio would much rather put resources into the final product.

Of course, this now leaves Take-Two’s holiday release window wide open for the release of Grand Theft Auto V. We can always dream.