When the details were announced that the BioShock franchise would be passed along to 2K, we were told, “The BioShock universe remains a rich creative canvas for many untold stories, and we look forward to exploring the next BioShock experience.” This suggested 2K was actively looking to continue the franchise, but didn’t offer much else.
During the Cowen and Company analyst conference (via GameSpot) earlier this week, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed the BioShock franchise, where he talked about how 2K Marin (BioShock 2, The Bureau) is handling it and “there’s a lot of upside” in the franchise:
We haven’t given any color on how you should think about it yet except we do believe it’s beloved, we think it’s important [and] certainly something that we’re focused on, [and] something 2K Marin will be responsible for shepherding going forward. I don’t want to say much else except to agree with you. I think there’s a lot of upside in that franchise.
It hasn’t necessarily been realized yet. And the question for the future, assuming we decide to answer the question, would be ‘How do you stay true to that creatively?’; ‘How do you do something exciting?’; and ‘How do you do expand the market?’. That would be the natural drill. We’re starting from a good point on it. And certainly it’s been a great piece of business for us; it’s been a profitable piece of business.
Zelnick also talked about how they’ve had “precious few flops” in their history, but Duke Nukem Forever was “just a misguided decision on my part.”
Do you think the BioShock franchise will continue on? Let everyone know in the comments below.
