BioShock Infinite

After weeks of speculation and excitement, Irrational have finally announced what “Project Icarus” really is. The game, which has been cryptically teased at www.whatisicarus.com since July, has this evening been confirmed as BioShock: Infinite. The reveal, in the form of a teaser trailer on the website, gives us all a first glimpse of the series’ new setting: a city not hidden under the ocean, but suspended in the sky.

The game will be released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, by the looks of the trailer.

The news of a new BioShock game will likely come as a surprise to many – recent whispers had been that Ken Levine and co. were working on an entirely new IP.

Irrational as a company has been through many iterations, having spawned from Looking Glass in 1997 and, for a few years, worked as a branch of 2K Games’ in-house development studios. They’re perhaps most famous for FPS/RPG horror hybrids System Shock 2 and BioShock, leading many to suspect early on that bossman Ken Levine was working on another title in the ‘Shock legacy.

A full-on sequel appeared to be ruled out, however, when earlier this year Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick told the LA Times that Levine had been working on “an original title.” Many suspected the game may be another spiritual successor, as BioShock was to System Shock 2.

But no: it’s a new BioShock.

Despite the change of setting, I imagine some people will be disappointed. BioShock 2, let’s face it, wasn’t great. And much of that was because BioShock was so beautifully self-contained that it didn’t need a sequel. But it’s worth remembering that it was made by a different development team. It was Irrational, then working under the 2K banner, who crafted 2007′s landmark adventure-shooter. And seriously, it was as brilliant as everyone said at the time. Stop it. You’re being spoiled.

The new setting looks exciting, but it’ll be interesting to see what mechanistic direction Irrational takes the project in, especially given how disappointingly safe BioShock 2 felt to play. We’re expecting more details to be revealed at 7PM BST, when those swine lucky enough to be shown the game yesterday are allowed to start telling you about it.