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    Bioshock is a series of award winning first person shooters published by 2K Games. The first and third games were developed by Ken Levine's Irrational Games, while the second installment was handled by 2K Marin.

    Will There Be Another Bioshock? And Should There Be?

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    Bioshocksurvivr

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    #1  Edited By Bioshocksurvivr

    Bioshock is one of my favorite games of all time. I originally played it right after it released on PS3 (didn't have a 360 at the time).

    Since that was in October, I now play it every year, around Halloween. With October just around the corner, I've been thinking about whether I want another Bioshock.

    With Ken Levine, and Irattional gone, could there be another one with that magic the first one had? Do you think there will be another one?

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    ArtisanBreads

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    There's absolutely zero reason to make a game called Bioshock again. You can make something inspired by it though. The important thing is the genre.

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    TonyBlue87

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    #3  Edited By TonyBlue87

    Considering how Infinite calls out the literal real-world narrative structure of the Bioshock games, I feel like it's safe to say the series has ended. That said, there's probably a good chance of some sort of "spiritual successor" popping up (sorta how Bio was to System). I'm not necessarily against it, but personally speaking if I need a Bioshock fix I'll just play the first 20 minutes of each game.

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    fatalbanana

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    #4  Edited By fatalbanana

    As much as I love those games I think it's time they put it to bed. They ended on a high note and with one decent game and 2 great ones in the franchise I feel good leaving it where it is.

    That doesn't mean there won't be another game like it with similar magic though.

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    Dixavd

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    The only way I want Bioshock to come back is if they told a story directly responding to the narrative criticisms of Infinite. Infinite is a great game that I adore, especially the story of Booker, Elizabeth and Comstock, however it breaks down too easily on its other ideas. I honestly believe Bioshock Infinite had an important message about the folly of idolisation, but it's married to a world which can be easily summarised into "both sides are somewhat bad". This is a viewpoint which has been shown in recent years to be very destructive. If they bring Bioshock back, they have no excuse but to tackle that head on. There's no hiding behind the argument that it wasn't the focus of the story a second time. With the boon of hindsight, they must come out swinging.

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    TheFlamingo352

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    #6  Edited By TheFlamingo352

    Hasn't 2K gotten out and said they want to continue the Bioshock name? Like, I think those made a decent bit of money, and they're certainly well reviewed, so I would expect them to make another eventually.

    As for me, I don't really need a new Bioshock in my life, but if a developer with 2K has a good idea for the license then by all means go for it.

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    Bioshocksurvivr

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    One of the main reasons I want to see it return, is my fascination with Rapture. I would love to just spend more time in that world.

    But I fear without Ken Levine, and Irrational, it just wouldn't be the same.

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    Teddie

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    Nah, the thing that drew me to the series was Infinite's art design, the fun story was just a bonus. I honestly don't think they'd take the stuff I like from Infinite and make a new game if they were to continue the series.

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    yabbering_yeti

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    The Bioshock franchise is very important to me, and two of those games sit in my top 10... but even I realise it's time for it to end. Also, Prey scratched that itch recently.

    However I do want a new, different shock series to sprout up... hopefully with heavier rpg systems, like systemshock.

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    Sinusoidal

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    #11  Edited By Sinusoidal

    I thought the game play loop of Bioshock was getting pretty tired by the time of Infinite, so no. Not unless there are some pretty drastic changes. And even then, why not an entirely new IP? We've got enough sequels in this hobby.

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    TheManWithNoPlan

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    #12  Edited By TheManWithNoPlan

    No and No.

    I do think it'd be neat if at somepoint someone incorporated the "shock" aspect in a new title the way Bioshock was the spiritual descendant of System shock.

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    Dingofighter

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    The new Prey is pretty much Bioshock in space (aka System Shock I suppose), or at least the closest to a spiritual successor to those games I can think of.
    I personally liked it even more than Bioshock and I feel like if you liked Bioshock there's a pretty big chance you are going to enjoy Prey as well.

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    Ares42

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    As far as I can tell Bioshock Infinite was specifically designed to kill the franchise, so I highly doubt we'll see any more of it.

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    vampire_chibi

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    No game i've ever played has that same 'magic' that the first bioshock game had. It was the right time and play for that game to exist for me, i was much shorter and almost easierly influenced by outside sources.

    What i'd want is something completely different and something with a new kind of 'magic' to create its own space next to the first bioshock.

    However that could take an enormous amount of time before that would ever happen.

    Will there ever be another bioshock game? OFCOURSE there will. Will it be any good? Who knows!

    Bioshock is such a solid franchise that any business that holds the license would be foolish not to utilize it. So yes another bioshock game will happen eventually, because money.

    Should another bioshock game happen? Yes but i think it would have to be somesort of spinoff like infinite. Something bioshock'y but distanced from the other games.

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    deactivated-5b031d0e868a5

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    I didn't want BioShock 2 or BioShock Infinite after the first game was so good.

    I prefer the idea of making this incredible piece of work and then just moving onto the next project.

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    Joe_McCallister

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    There's absolutely zero reason to make a game called Bioshock again. You can make something inspired by it though. The important thing is the genre.

    My thoughts exactly. I view Bioshock and Infinite (to a lesser extent 2) as pretty hallowed stuff - when a game like Prey gives me flashes of "Bioshockness" I love it - but I don't want another. I don't think it could deliver on what made the games great to me. I'd much rather just play back through them with the "oh yeah this part" feeling. The thing I hope we don't see is every developer making something that is relatively out there in a narrative sense saying it was inspired by Bioshock, if that's the case you'll have to show it in the game.

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    hermes

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    Probably not, not least because Infinite closed the door with "the lighthouse, the man, the city" theme of the name... but I hope the spirit of 0451 games continue strong; although Deus Ex, Prey and Dishonored are commercial bonfires, I would always prefer them to "generic shooter".

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    Bioshocksurvivr

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    @dingofighter: I really need to give Prey a shot. The demo was really cool.

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    ZolRoyce

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    You've been in space, you've been under the water, you've been in the air, this summer get ready to enter a city... on the laaaaaaaaaaaand!

    Part of Bioshocks allure to me was how fresh it was. I don't really need another one at this point, but I'm with @hermes on this one, the spirit of these types of games is something I want to continue, a different name, a different game, cover different philosophies/religious tones/political vibes, be your own thing, but have the 'soul' of what makes these types of games great.

    I wouldn't turn my nose up at a new one, but I get more excited for newness.

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    Assumedkilla

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    I'd like to see more, but I only like Bioshock, I don't love it. I think the first and third games had limp endings. I appreciate their settings and attempts at telling an interesting story though. I don't look at the series as something sacred. Any good dev could bring it back. It's more about the publisher giving them freedom.

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    splodge

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    I love bioshock and would always welcome more. A new game does not reduce the relevance or the older, or make them less fun to play. Give me ten more bioshocks, who gives a fuck?

    Setting would be difficult this time tho.... we have had underwater and up in the clouds. Hmmm maybe a floating metropolis or gigantic raft system ala Snow Crash.

    Or maybe a 11-dimensional tesseract only percievable by super-beings.

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    Ungodly

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    Maybe. There's still value in the name.

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    BoOzak

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    #24  Edited By BoOzak

    The end of Infinite makes the idea of another one kind of sad but I could see it happening. Personally i'd like to see a cyberpunk style Bioshock if they were to ever do another one. I know part of the personality of the series is the old timey tech mixed with arcane science (kind of steampunkish) but I'd want something different.

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    Luchalma

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    The first one was a pretty special thing. But by the time Bioshock 2 came out I was already thinking Bioshock is not really a game that should be franchised (even though it ended up being a good and arguably better game). I thought Infinite should have been called Somethingelse-shock. And in the future I wouldn't mind seeing a game in a similar vein called Somethingelsestill-shock, but unrelated to any of the previous ones. But I doubt we'll see one for a while, if ever.

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    NTM

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    #26  Edited By NTM

    Just curious, have you played Bioshock on anything other than the PS3? It's still great on the PS3, but it's the worst version, unfortunately just due to controls and mainly visuals. Anyways, I hope there will be another, but I don't know if there will be one. I believe they said that it won't be the last of Bioshock. Bioshock is also one of my all-time favorite games. I bought all the versions of each game (except for Bioshock 2 on the 360), so yes, I'd be very interested in another Bioshock. I just hope it's a talented team behind it. Lastly, it's not extremely well-written, but I fully recommend the Bioshock novel. I read it just before the remaster came out.

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    fisk0

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    #27 fisk0  Moderator

    They're doing System Shock 3. I think it would be neat if the next game was another Shock game just loosely mechanically tied to the previous games. I wouldn't mind if they explored that original WW2 Bioshock pitch, but they could probably come up with a way more inventive and fascinating setting than that if the only things they had to keep were the RPG mechanics, vitachambers/restoration chambers, gene splicing/nanomachines and having your early guide through the game turn out to be the main villain (though I guess doing that bit a 4th time would probably make it lose its impact).

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    OurSin_360

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    Yes, especially if Prey is selling well and No because infinite wrapped up that narrative loop pretty clearly.

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    Luchalma

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    @ntm said:

    It's still great on the PS3, but it's the worst version, unfortunately just due to controls and mainly visuals.

    No Caption Provided

    Are you sure?

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    Onemanarmyy

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    #30  Edited By Onemanarmyy

    I feel like Prey is sort of a bioshock game. There will be more games like that. A new Bioshock would be a total different thing anyways so it doesn't really matter what the name on the box is.

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    dagas

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    #31  Edited By dagas

    The first game was amazing. I would like a prequel even if it means not much fighting since it would be before it all went to hell. I just love the city under the ocean theme and the art style and everything about it. BS2 was good too but was just more of the same and I never liked Infinte as much.

    The orginal Bioshock is part of the reason why 2007 is still one of the best years in gaming. Along with Halo 3, Mass Effect, Orange Box, Mario Galaxy and many other games.

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    NTM

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    #32  Edited By NTM

    @luchalma: I mean of the console/PC type (that are actually very similar). The iPad or whatever version is too much compromised to even be mentioned! I don't even consider it. I don't have that version.

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    Fredchuckdave

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    Does a large company want to make a profit off an old IP that's seen better days?

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    Luchalma

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    @ntm said:

    @luchalma: I mean of the console/PC type (that are actually very similar). The iPad or whatever version is too much compromised to even be mentioned! I don't even consider it. I don't have that version.

    Just being a smartass. I would have actually liked to have played that version at some point, purely as a novelty. Unfortunately it's been unavailable to get for some time now. That and I don't have an iPad anyway. It would have been neat to see whatever Bioshock thing they talked about for Vita.

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    The_Nubster

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    Nah. Bioshock 1 was fine, but I'll allow it because it led to Bioshock 2 and Minerva's Den. Even Infinite was sort of a boring misstep, and the DLC was just a petty attempt by Levine to stop anyone else from getting their fingers in the pie. All told, we got one good game and one good DLC out of the series, so really, it's fine being put down for now.

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    Bioshocksurvivr

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    @ntm: Yes, I've played the PS4 remake as well.

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    Dan_CiTi

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    Eh, I'd rather just have new franchise with similar ideas refreshed with more modern sensibilities. At the time a lot of things going on in BioShock felt very new, but it had certain design flaws like too easily relying on the 1-2 plasmid-strike/shotgun combo. That being said some games have done that like Prey and Dishonored 2 have carried that torch.

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    shivermetimbers

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    #38  Edited By shivermetimbers

    At this point any game named Bioshock will come across to cynical people like me as a franchise cash grab. Even if the game was good, It'd just be called Bioshock to sell more copies. Let it retire.

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    Whitestripes09

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    "The man, the lighthouse, and the city" is pretty much done. As fun as it was watching that story unravel and connect to the entire series, it also felt unnecessary and like it was falling apart with Burial At Sea.

    So no, I don't want to see that story continue, but would rather see more of the genre. Prey and Dishonored are great on their own right, but I think there is something truly special, whether by accident or on purpose, about the 1st Bioshock that its sequels and these other games have never quite captured.

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    Rebel_Scum

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    Nah I don't need anymore of Rapture tbh. I'm replaying the first one now atm and its great and I love Rapture's style and design but there's only so much I can take of this underwater hell hole.

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    TheHT

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    1. If there's enough $$$ (dosh) to be made, then yes.
    2. Probably not. Something in a similar vein though, sure, just don't call it BioShock.
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    Qrowdyy

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    How well did Bioshock remastered sell? I'm thinking that one of the reasons why they even remastered the series was to gauge interest in a new game.

    Should it be remastered? They way they tied up loose ends in Burial At Sea felt forced and left a bad taste in my mouth. But, they did tie up all the loose ends. There's no more story left to tell. They'd have to do something new. They will also probably make it open world. Linear single-player only shooters are pretty rare these days. With all the probable changes will it still even be Bioshock anymore?

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