Many of you are likely already in mourning this morning over the loss of one of 2012’s most anticipated games, but for those who haven’t heard the sad news yet, BioShock Infinite has been delayed from its projected October 16th release to a new launch date of February 26, 2013. Elizabeth’s tears of joy now taste of sadness and disappointment.
To focus all energies on completing development and to ensure that the next time it’s shown “it will be essentially the product we [Irrational Games] intend to put in the box,” BioShock Infinite will not be making the rounds at this summer’s two major gaming conventions, E3 and Gamescom.
Irrational’s Ken Levine explains in this note to fans:
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.
What does this mean for you? It means a bit more waiting, but more importantly, it means an even better BioShock Infinite. The great can be made greater, and we owe it to both ourselves and to you, our fans, to take this opportunity. Irrational Games is one of those rare developers lucky enough to ask the people who sign the checks: “Hey, can we have a few more of those checks?”
We are also going to hold off on showing BioShock Infinite at the big events of the summer, like E3 and Gamescom. That way, the next time you see our game, it will be essentially the product we intend to put in the box. Preparing for these events takes time away from development, time we’re going to use instead to get the best version of Infinite into your hands in February.
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
As disappointed as I am that my Halloween won’t be spent swinging through the clouds of Columbia, I totally appreciate Levine’s direct approach to announcing the delay. I’d much rather wait and have an amazing game than get it sooner and wonder why features were incomplete and buggy, Also smart to skip all the summer trade-show circuses–all that E3 prep time can now be used to polish.
There’s some speculation now that the delay may actually be so they can add multiplayer to the game. Apparently Irrational posted a jobs listing for experienced online coders. Not sure how I’d feel about that, if true. Multiplayer was good in BioShock 2 but still felt completely unnecessary and didn’t stand out enough to have any lasting appeal. I’d trust Ken Levine that he wouldn’t attempt multiplayer if it weren’t something really unique, he’s even said as much before, but I still wish some franchises would stay single player focused.