BioShock Infinite

""Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt," that was the deal. The details elude me now, but the details wouldn't change a goddamn thing."

- Booker DeWitt



BioShock Infinite is the third game in the BioShock series. Announced on August 12, 2010, it is Irrational Games' newest project, and was released on March 26, 2013. BioShock Infinite is not a direct sequel/prequel to any of the previous BioShock games, and it takes place in an entirely different setting, although it shares similar features, gameplay and concepts with the previous games.

Overview
The game takes place in the airborne city of Columbia, in 1912, where the player assumes the role of Booker DeWitt, a disgraced Pinkerton agent. Booker has been given the job of finding a woman named Elizabeth, who has been confined by a hulking beast called Songbird.

Following in the footsteps of previous BioShock games, the world of Infinite explores the chaos that results when strong ideals are taken to the extreme. At the time of DeWitt's arrival, Columbia is a hotbed of ultra-nationalism, specifically American exceptionalism, as shown by the copious numbers of flags, patriotic music, and propaganda posters that promote the idea that Columbia is a 'haven' from the so-called 'unwanted' of the world.

The Journey of Booker DeWitt
At the start of the game, the protagonist, Booker DeWitt is riding a boat out to the coast of Maine with a mysterious man and woman. Booker, a former Pinkerton agent&mdash;now suffering from a massive amount of debt from gambling&mdash;has been hired by the man to rescue a girl named Elizabeth from the floating city of Columbia. If Booker is successful in bringing the girl back to New York, all of his debt will be wiped clean. The woman hands Booker his personal chest that includes important details for his mission: the code to enter Columbia, several Silver Eagle Dollars, one loaded pistol, a picture of Monument Island, a picture of Elizabeth, the key for Elizabeth's cell, and coordinates to New York City.

Booker enters the lighthouse, and later, a shuttle atop it. He enters the code given to him and boards the shuttle, only to drop his pistol and be launched into the sky, ascending into the city of Columbia. Upon entering Columbia, Booker is automatically exposed to the religious movement of Columbia and its leader, Zachary Hale Comstock, who is worshipped and seen as a prophet of God. Booker, in order to gain access into Columbia, must be baptized; however, the preacher nearly drowns Booker, sending him into a state of unconsciousness in the process. Dreaming, Booker finds himself in his office and hears a voice demanding him to "bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." Opening the door, Booker sees New York City&mdash;in the year 1984&mdash;under attack by Columbia. Booker awakens and finally enters the city; he has arrived on the day of the city's fair. Meanwhile, he is contacted by Rosalind Lutece via telegram; she warns him not to alert Comstock to his presence, and not to choose #77. Booker later encounters Rosalind and her "twin", Robert, as they make bets on the flip of a coin. Booker attends a raffle and eventfully chooses #77, which wins him the first chance to throw the ball at an interracial couple. Before throwing the ball&mdash;either at the couple, or the announcer of the raffle, Jeremiah Fink&mdash;he is seized by the police when his right hand (which is branded as A.D.) is identified as the hand of the "False Shepard," who is prophesied by Comstock to be the one who will bring about the city's downfall by "leading the lamb (of Columbia) astray."

Booker is forced to fight his way through the streets of Columbia, and, again, encounters the Lutece Twins, who supply him with a Shield. Making his way to Monument Island&mdash;the location where he will find Elizabeth&mdash;Booker is contacted by Zachary Comstock himself, who tells him he knows much about Booker's past and that his quest will end in blood.

When Booker reaches Monument Island, he finally meets Elizabeth, who is unaware that she has been observed as a "specimen" for all her life. Booker discovers that Elizabeth has an ability&mdash;one gained by being a test subject in trans-dimensional research when she was a child&mdash;to open portals through dimensional space and time when he sees her turn a picture of the Eiffel Tower into a portal to an actual street in Paris in the year 1983. Booker eventually enters the library and Elizabeth is initially frightened, and throws books at the stranger, but she becomes relieved when she asks Booker if he is real, and he replies that he's "real enough." Using the key given to Booker by the Luteces, he and Elizabeth barely escape from Monument Island, and from her guardian&mdash;the 30-ft winged creature known as the Songbird. Booker and Elizabeth then crash-land onto Battleship Bay, rendering Booker unconscious. Booker dreams, finding himself in his office again. This time, Elizabeth is present, as well as the voice from the previous dream. Both have the same words for Booker: "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt." Opening the door and calling out the name "Anna," Booker awakens to find Elizabeth kneeling over him. Spotting the First Lady's Aerodrome, Booker convinces Elizabeth to come with him so that they can go to Paris, which was what she always dreamed of.

While in Columbia, Booker learns that the city is in the midst of a war between The Founders, a faction of the white and rich supremacists led by Comstock, and the Vox Populi, a multi-racial and multi-nationality group of the poor and the working class. Both factions desire Elizabeth and her powers, believing they can use her to turn the tide of the war in their favor. While searching for the First Lady's zeppelin, Booker witnesses Elizabeth's ability first hand; the city is riddled with shimmering rips in the air known as Tears, which are windows or doors to other universes and other times. Elizabeth has the ability to widen these Tears and manipulate them by transporting objects from other realities to the reality she is in.

Before acquiring the Vigor in the Hall of Heroes needed to activate the lift to Lady Comstock's Aerodrome, Booker and Elizabeth discover more about Comstock and the creation of Columbia. Despite Booker being present at the Battle of Wounded Knee and having no recollection of such, Comstock was also apparently present and was a hero of the battle. Later on in life, he claimed to have seen the archangel Columbia, who showed him a vision of the future, a future with a floating city in the sky. This experience made him see himself as a Prophet of God. He then met quantum physicist Rosalind Lutece, who discovered the components necessary to make matter float. The pair worked with the United States Congress to create the floating city of Columbia, in order to spread America's ideals and successes all across the world. After its completion in 1900, Columbia traveled across the world until 1901, when it fired on Peking, China during the Boxer Rebellion and Congress subsequently demanded that Columbia return to mainland America. Comstock, feeling betrayed and believing that America's ideals were fading, led Columbia in its secession from the United States, and, afterwards, it vanished into the clouds. Over the course of a decade, the independent state of Columbia became a hotbed of racism, ultranationalism, and religious radicalism, leading to a rebellion, which began when Daisy Fitzroy&mdash;a servant of Comstock's&mdash;was accused of murdering Lady Comstock, Comstock's wife. Enraged by this, Fitzroy rallied supporters to her cause of removing Comstock from power, leading to the creation of the Vox Populi.

In the Hall of Heroes, Booker encounters a fellow soldier from Wounded Knee, Cornelius Slate, who is fighting with the Vox Populi against Comstock. Slate reveals that Booker's instincts are correct&mdash;Comstock was never there, nor was he on the battlefield during the Boxer Rebellion. Booker and Elizabeth also discover that she is Comstock's daughter, which is why Comstock is relentless is his pursuit of her&mdash;He wants his heir to "sit the throne, and drown in flame the mountains of man." After fighting Slate and his men&mdash;and either killing or sparing Slate&mdash;Booker acquires Shock Jockey and escorts Elizabeth to the First Lady's Aerodome. As Booker sets the zeppelin's course, Elizabeth discovers that he had lied to her&mdash;the coordinates he put in were taking them to New York, not Paris&mdash;Angered, she hits Booker with a wrench and knocks him out. She eventually leaves the zeppelin, which is hijacked by Vox Populi.

Regaining consciousness, Booker meets Daisy Fitzroy and they make a deal&mdash;Booker will go to the gunsmith Chen Lin and get weapons for the Vox and, in exchange, Fitzroy will return the zeppelin. Booker is dropped into Finkton, where he meets up with Elizabeth. She agrees to join him only so that she can reach Paris. The two continue into the industrial zones and the shanty-towns of the poor. They eventually find Chen Lin&mdash;tortured to death. Suddenly, the Lutece twins appear before them and reveal that Lin, like Schrödinger's Cat, is both alive and dead in other worlds. Elizabeth opens a tear in which Lin did not die. However, now everyone that died in the reality they just left (including Lin) remembers being dead, and Lin believes that his machines are there when they aren't. Lin has also had his tools seized by the police in this alternate Columbia, and when Booker and Elizabeth find them, they are forced to open another tear in which the weapons are in the possession of the Vox. In the new reality, the Vox have rebelled against Jeremiah Fink, and the Booker in this reality was a hero who died for the Vox cause. Fitzroy, encountering Booker, proclaims him "either an imposter or a ghost" and orders her troops to attack him because she wants him to remain a martyr. She then kills Fink and threatens to kill a little boy, claiming that doing so is the only way to eliminate the Founders. But, before she can kill the boy, Elizabeth sneaks up behind Fitzroy and stabs her in the back, leading to her death.

Elizabeth, remorseful and covered in blood, rushes abord the First Lady's Airship and locks herself in a room while Booker puts in coordinates for their next destination. When Elizabeth emerges, Booker sees that she has cut off her ponytail and changed into her mother's dress. She asks him how he can forget what he has done, and he replies that he doesn't forget; he just learns to live with it. Abruptly, Songbird attacks and the zeppelin crashes just outside of the Emporia Towers. Booker and Elizabeth enter Emporia to find the Lutece twins, who reveal to them that the Songbird is being controlled by a series of musical notes through a device called the "whistler," and if one knows the proper notes and finds the device, they will be able to control him. The two continue on to Emporia as the Vox push the rich out of their homes, and also as Songbird constantly pursues them. Elizabeth, believing that going back to her prison on monument island is fate equal to death, makes Booker promise to kill her if the Songbird has a chance of capturing her. They continue on to the Port to discover that the key needed to enter the lift to Comstock House requires a handprint. Realizing there is a graveyard nearby, Elizabeth decides to find her preserved mother's grave and take her hand. Comstock discovers this plan and uses the Tesla machine to open a tear in which Lady Comstock is a creature both alive and dead, and has a personality manifesting Elizabeth's attitude towards Lady Comstock&mdash;anger and resentment over her abandonment of a child she called a bastard&mdash;this transforms Lady Comstock into a Siren, a creature that is able to resurrect the dead.

The Luteces tell Booker and Elizabeth that in order to stop Lady Comstock, she must open several tears to reveal the truth to Lady Comstock. It is revealed through the tears that Rosalind created the Siphon, a machine that opens Tears into other universes. This is how she found her twin brother, Robert, who is her male counterpart in another universe. Comstock used this machine to look into the future, which is how he knows so much about Booker's past. One of Comstock's prophecies is represented in the dream Booker had, in which Columbia will reign fire on America. Comstock wanted a child to fulfill this prophecy. However, the use of trans-dimensional travel rendered him infertile and caused him to age rapidly&mdash;he looks to be in his seventies/eighties, and yet, claimed to have been born in 1874. Comstock used the Luteces' machine to travel into another universe so that he could take another's child&mdash;Elizabeth&mdash;for his own. Knowing that his wife would eventually reveal that the child was not hers, Comstock had her killed and blamed their servant, Daisy Fitzroy, for the murder. After returning to Comstock House, Elizabeth apologizes to Lady Comstock for her hatred toward her, and Lady Comstock opens the gates, returning to her rest shortly afterward.

In the house, the Songbird attacks them again. Before Booker is killed, Elizabeth stops it by surrendering, and the mechanical creature takes her away. Booker attempts to follow Elizabeth across the bridge, but runs into a white fog and is surprised to see it is now snowing on the other side. While in a medical facility, Booker searches for Elizabeth, and finds multiple tears revealing that Booker disappeared for six months while coming to rescue her, leaving Comstock to mold her into the role he has intended for her. When he finally finds Elizabeth, she is decades older than when he left her. This Elizabeth reveals that she broke&mdash;not to Comstock's torture and indoctrination procedures, but to time, which rotted away her hope&mdash;and finally fulfilled her role of attacking New York. She gives Booker a ciphered message card to give to her younger self in order to stop these events from happening, and then sends Booker back to save Elizabeth.

Booker arrives just as Elizabeth is being prepared for surgery, and frees her. He gives her the card, which she can read except for the cage symbol. They board Comstock's airship and fight their way to the bridge. They finally confront Comstock, in his cabin, and he tells Elizabeth that Booker is responsible for what happened to her missing finger. The two also discover that Comstock foresaw the events that have taken place, in which Booker (with the A.D. brand) would come take Elizabeth from him. Comstock then grabs her, demanding that Booker tell the truth; this causes Booker to seize him by the throat. Comstock says "It is finished." before Booker kills him. Elizabeth thinks Comstock was telling the truth and Booker doesn't remember, and the two decide to continue on to find out.

On the bridge, as the zeppelin comes under attack by the Vox Populi, Elizabeth discovers that the cage symbol in the message her older self gave her refers to how  Songbird can be controlled through the musical notes C, A, G, and E. With Songbird under their control, the Vox fleet is defeated.

At the ship's bow, they see the Siphon, the machine made by Rosalind Lutece that opens Tears&mdash;which Comstock used to see the future&mdash;still inside the remains of the statue on Monument Island. Earlier, the Lutece twins saw the future of Columbia and what Elizabeth would become through the Siphon and prepared to send Elizabeth back into the universe in which she was born, but Comstock discovered their plan and had Jeremiah Fink sabotage the Siphon. This did not kill the twins, but, instead, spread their presence through all realities. Also, the sabotage of the machine ripped through the realities Columbia existed in, creating the Tears everyone sees and Elizabeth can open. The machine now acts to repress Elizabeth's ability to open, and even create any tear and reality she tries to. Set on finding the truth, Booker uses the "whistler" to command Songbird to destroy the Siphon.

As the Siphon is destroyed, a massive shockwave resonates, and the "whistler" pulses with electricity, causing Booker to drop it. Now free of the device's control, Songbird comes to claim Elizabeth again, but, with her powers fully restored, Elizabeth transports herself, Booker and the Songbird to the underwater city of Rapture&mdash; She and Booker are inside a building, with the Songbird stuck outside; its eyes burst and it dies, its body sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Booker and Elizabeth then leave Rapture via a Bathysphere and emerge on the surface, next to a lighthouse&mdash;the same lighthouse that Jack would come across at the beginning of his journey, in 1960. A key materializes in Elizabeth's right hand&mdash;it was always there; she just didn't see it&mdash;She uses it to open the lighthouse door, and she and Booker come across an infinite number of lighthouses.



Elizabeth reveals that the stars they see are all doors opening at once and that the Lighthouse to Rapture is a door to many other doors; the infinite number of lighthouses are paths to realities, where constants and variables give birth to other worlds with other consequences. Elizabeth also reveals that through these tears and doors, she and Booker will discover the truth about her finger, her abilities, and Comstock.

After two areas of infinite lighthouses, Booker and Elizabeth come across a point in time when Booker came to a Preacher's farm near a river, after his actions at Wounded Knee. Because of the atrocities he committed, he went to be baptized in order to be absolved of all his sins and be reborn as a different man. However, he refused the baptism at the last moment.

Booker then follows Elizabeth through another door. The door takes him back to his office on the day he made the deal with the man. The man is revealed to be Robert Lutece who offered to wipe away his debt, in exchange for "bring[ing] us the girl." It is revealed from opening the door next to his desk that the deal was not for him to retrieve Elizabeth from Columbia, but to give up his baby daughter, Anna, to Comstock. On that day, Comstock had Rosalind and Robert open a Tear, using the Siphon, to Booker's universe to personally claim Booker's child as his own. Just as Robert and Comstock, with Anna, were about to go back to Comstock's reality, Booker&mdash;regretting his choice&mdash;sprints down the alleyway they are in to retrieve his baby, ending in struggle between himself and Comstock, who orders the portal to be closed. Comstock is able to pull Anna away from Booker, just as the tear closes, which severs her right pinkie finger. With this, the truth is revealed; Elizabeth is actually Anna DeWitt&mdash;Booker's own daughter. Booker then branded his right hand with Anna's initials&mdash;A.D.&mdash;and spent nearly twenty years living in grief and despair.

After Comstock had Fink sabotage the Siphon, causing the Luteces to be scattered across all realities, their shades come to Booker, offering him a chance at redemption. They open a tear, between Comstock's reality, and Booker's. Booker goes through, but his trans-dimensional travel causes him to create new memories from his old ones, and he confuses the sale of his daughter and the words "bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt," to mean that he must go to Columbia and retrieve Elizabeth to wipe away the debt. Booker and Elizabeth now realize that they must undo everything that Comstock has done, and the only way to do so is by killing him&mdash;not as an adult, but by killing him as an infant and "smother[ing] him in the crib."

Elizabeth opens a door back to Booker's baptism, over twenty years prior. Booker realizes that is not the same place, and then he meets multiple versions of his daughter, all from different worlds. They reveal that, when he rejected the baptism, he created another universe&mdash;one in which he did accept the baptism. In the universe where he accepted the baptism, he changed his name, and went on to build Columbia, become infertile, and take Anna away from Booker&mdash;her real father.

Thus, another truth is revealed: Booker DeWitt is, in fact, Zachary Hale Comstock&mdash;but only if Booker accepts the baptism. Booker realizes this, and allows the ensemble of Annas/Elizabeths to drown him, preventing his alternate self from being reborn as Comstock. Since Comstock has been erased from the timeline, the events of Bioshock Infinite never took place. One by one, the Elizabeths begin to disappear, until one remains standing in the water. The screen fades to black. Players are left to decide Elizabeth's fate for themselves.

Epilogue
His eyes opening, Booker finds himself back in his apartment on October the 8th, 1893; the date he gave up his daughter to Comstock. This time, however, Robert Lutece is not there, because Comstock never existed. While calling out Anna's name, Booker opens the door next to his desk, and sees his daughter's crib.

Gameplay
Infinite features a range of environments that force the player to adapt, with different weapons and strategies for each situation. Interior spaces feature close combat with enemies, but unlike previous games set in Rapture, the setting of Infinite contains open spaces with emphasis on sniping and ranged combat against as many as fifteen enemies at once. Combat also take place while the player is traveling at great speed along the Sky-Lines, a major transport system of Columbia.

Booker gains powers and abilities by using Vigors and Gear that are found throughout Columbia. Booker can find up to 8 different Vigors and multiple Gears (separated in hats, shirts, gloves and boots). Unlike the previous games Booker can now change Vigors and Gears whenever he wants to and does not have to search for machines similar to Gene Banks. The player also has access to a random upgrade that Booker receives from an interracial couple he saved.

Vigors grant active powers such as telekinesis, electricity manipulation, or animal control (exemplified by Murder of Crows).

Once DeWitt has found Elizabeth, she will accompany the player at various points in the game. Elizabeth has her own set of abilities complementary to Dewitt's. Elizabeth has the ability to open up Tears to create cover, ammunition, or other useful objects during combat. The players are able to command Elizabeth on what tear they want her to open.

Infinite features several varieties of enemies. These range from seemingly average humans with weapons, to the iconic Handyman seen in trailers. Unlike the previous BioShock games, many enemies will not attack on sight, but instead will remain neutral to DeWitt unless the player performs an action that causes them to become hostile. Other powerful opponents, such as the Handyman, can act as leaders for other enemies, augmenting their abilities. The most powerful enemy in the game, known as Songbird, is the most feared creature in all of Columbia.

On January 12, 2012, Irrational Games announced the 1999 gameplay mode, which is designed to make the game more challenging for hardcore players. In the 1999 mode, players are forced to make permanent and critical choices to the development of their character. Through these choices, players must specialize in specific playstyles, rendering other alternatives ineffective in the process.

Premium Edition


BioShock Infinite Premium Edition is a collector's edition of the game. It costs $79.99.


 * This edition includes:
 * The Art of BioShock Infinite mini art book, including art and comments by the developers, and a hand-distressed cover.
 * An exclusive 25 millimeter Handyman figure from the upcoming board game BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia - being created by Plaid Hat Games.
 * A 5 x 7 lithograph of an advertisement for the vigor Devil's Kiss.
 * 3-inch Murder of Crows vigor bottle keychain.
 * Digital soundtrack exclusive to the editions, featuring music from the game.
 * Three exclusive in-game Gear power-ups:
 * Bull Rush: Melee strikes from a sprint have a chance to knock the enemy down.
 * Extra! Extra!: Audio logs also grant a bounty of Silver Eagles, the game's currency.
 * Betrayer: Killing possessed enemies causes them to explode in a damaging fireball.
 * Platform-specific Downloadable Content:
 * Xbox 360: Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth Avatar Costumes.
 * Booker's Avatar Costume features a fedora, blue tinted goggles, a jacket, and high boots.
 * PC and PlayStation 3: BioShock Infinite Themes (Backgrounds, icons, etc.).

Ultimate Songbird Edition


This edition includes all of the above, as well as a Songbird statue. It costs $149.99. The statue is a "highly detailed, hand painted, resin-cast 9.75" statue" which is packaged in its own collectible packaging.

Retailer-Exclusive Pre-order Bonuses
BioShock Infinite featured a wide range of retailer-exclusive bonuses for pre-ordering the game:

Main Characters



 * Booker DeWitt
 * Cornelius Slate
 * Daisy Fitzroy
 * Elizabeth
 * Jeremiah Fink
 * Robert Lutece
 * Rosalind Lutece
 * The Songbird
 * Zachary Hale Comstock

Enemies

 * Boy of Silence
 * Fireman
 * Handyman
 * Motorized Patriot
 * Siren
 * Citizens

BioShock Infinite Weapons
The player has a choice of weapons in BioShock Infinite. Only two weapons can be held at one time, but most can be picked up if found. It takes 20,280 Silver Eagles to upgrade all weapons in the game.


 * China Broom
 * Triple R
 * Broadsider
 * Barnstormer
 * Sky-Hook
 * Huntsman
 * Pepper-Mill
 * Paddywhacker
 * Bird's Eye
 * Burstgun
 * Volley Gun

Vigors
The player has a selection of Vigors to use. Unlike weapons, the player will always have a Vigor once found. However, they must be powered by Salts, which is universal to all Vigors held. Not including purchasing the base Vigor, it takes 14,481 Silver Eagles to upgrade all Vigors.


 * Bucking Bronco
 * Murder of Crows
 * Shock Jockey
 * Devil's Kiss
 * Possession
 * Charge
 * Return to Sender
 * Undertow

Gear
The player has access to a large assortment of gears. Each gear is an article of clothing: hat, shirt, pants, and shoes, only being able to wear one of each type at a time. These can be changed at any time in the options menu.


 * Handyman Nemesis
 * Fleet Feet
 * Sugar Rush
 * Extra! Extra!
 * Bull Rush
 * Betrayer
 * Throttle Control
 * Shock Jacket
 * Newton's Law
 * Sky-Line Reloader
 * Nitro Vest
 * Blood to Salt
 * Scavenger's Vest
 * Executioner
 * Pyromaniac
 * Sky-Line Accuracy
 * Coat of Harms
 * Winter Shield
 * Bullet Boon
 * Nor'easter
 * Kill to Live
 * Vampire's Embrace
 * Tunnel Vision
 * Fit As A Fiddle

Locations

 * The Welcome Center- Consist of the chapel and Garden of New Eden . Later on The Welcome Center docks next to the Town Center this area is filled with towns people celebrating their independence from the Union. The Town Center stretches from New Eden Square, the Fairgrounds, and the Raffle Square while streets like Shady Lane and Path of the Scroll connects these areas together.
 * Soldiers Field - Contains the Hall of Heroes museum, the First Lady's Aerodrome.
 * Battleship Bay - A subsection of Soldiers Field. Contains the beach, Fink Theatre, a Payton L. Easter & Sons' stable for visitors' Automated Stallions, an as-of-yet unnamed amusement park featuring a roller coaster and a large Ferris wheel, many food services, and an exhibition center.
 * Finkton - Contains lower-class apartments/slums and the Fink Factory/Shipping Docks complex. Part of this district was detached from Columbia in 1901 due to a fire that may or may not have been intentionally started by the Founders.
 * Emporia Heights - Contains Emporia Towers Luxury Apartment Homes, central terminal of Columbia Transit, headquarters of the Columbia Post Office, and Zachary Hale "Father" Comstock's house.
 * Emporia Heights - Contains Emporia Towers Luxury Apartment Homes, central terminal of Columbia Transit, headquarters of the Columbia Post Office, and Zachary Hale "Father" Comstock's house.

BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution


BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution is a flash game provided to those who pre-order BioShock Infinite. It can be used to unlock exclusive ingame content.

Extras

 * BioShock Infinite Signature Series Guide
 * BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt (Novel)
 * BioShock Infinite Soundtrack
 * BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution
 * BioShock Infinite Downloadable Content

Development


Prior to its announcement on August 12, 2010, Irrational Games had used the moniker "Project Icarus" to describe their next game, creating a teaser site in late July 2010. Over the weeks leading to the announcement, the animation on the teaser site slowly built up to an animated infinity symbol on the day prior to the announcement. Employees of Irrational Games later revealed that the moniker "Icarus" began as an internal codename for the project, used in email correspondence etc., to avoid any leaks about the nature of the game.

Irrational had been working in secrecy on Infinite for two and a half years since completing the original BioShock. The original BioShock engine, a modified Unreal Engine 2.x, was inadequate to support the game mechanics of the new game, thus the development team chose to work with Unreal Engine 3, modifying it with their own lighting engine and means to simulate the movement and buoyancy of the buildings in Columbia. Because of this, all of the assets for BioShock Infinite had to be made from scratch.

In March 2012, the initial release date of BioShock Infinite for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 was announced to be October 16 of that year. However, on May 9, 2012 the release date was delayed to February 26, 2013 in order for Irrational Games to add some "specific tweaks and improvements." On December 7, 2012, the game was delayed yet again to March 26 "in order to give the team a few more weeks of this polish." On February 19, Ken Levine was proud to announce that BioShock Infinite has gone Gold, stating that it has been approved by Sony, Microsoft and the PC makers.

This new engine and technology allows the buildings to work dynamically from any scripted events. They float on their own and can be affected by changes in weather and such without assigned fashion. During a demo, a bell tower tilted over and collapsed, with the bell breaking off and sliding to a stop right at the players feet. This entire event was unscripted, and was generated by the combination of the physics engine and the in-game weather system. It should be noted that the finished game product had no such dynamic enviornmental systems.

Behind the Scenes

 * Ken Levine revealed in an interview with Gamasutra that the plot's conflict would have been originally about tech geeks against luddites, those who resist the proliferation of technology.
 * The previous site for BioShock Infinite was WhatIsIcarus.com.
 * One scene from the trailer has "Revenge of the Jedi" playing in the theater. This is reference to the original name for Star Wars Episode VI. The name wasn't changed until a few weeks before the movie's premiere, after quite a lot of promotional material was released.
 * This is the first BioShock game to feature a speaking protagonist during gameplay.
 * At the main menu, some of the Columbian citizens are reused models of Bottle Street Gang members from Dishonored, a game by Arkane Studios, which helped design levels in BioShock 2.