BioShock Infinite

Overview

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K. It is the third installment of the BioShock series and was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 and OS X in 2013. The game is set in the year 1912 and follows Booker DeWitt, who is sent to the airborne city Columbia to retrieve Elizabeth, a young woman held captive there.

Booker and Elizabeth become involved in a class war between the nativist Founders who rule Columbia and the rebel Vox Populi, who represent the city's underclass. Elizabeth can manipulate Tears in the space-time continuum, and the two discover that she is central to Columbia's dark secrets. The player controls Booker, fighting enemies and scavenging supplies, while the computer-controlled Elizabeth provides assistance.

It plays as a first-person shooter with role-playing elements. The player carries two weapons at a time and can use Vigors, powers that shoot lightning, launch enemies into the air or take control of enemies and machines, and that run on Salt. Booker has health and a regenerating shield. Gear gives passive abilities in four slots, and Infusions upgrade health, shield or Salt. The city is crossed on foot or on the Sky-Line, a rail system that Booker rides with a special hook that can also execute weakened foes.

After BioShock in 2007, Irrational and creative director Ken Levine were at first uninterested in a sequel, but they later renegotiated with 2K to make another BioShock game. Concept work began in February 2008. The setting draws on historical events such as the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and the story on the idea of American exceptionalism. The team used Unreal Engine 3 with its own lighting engine. Development took five years and was troubled, and outside help was brought in to make sure the game shipped.

The game was released worldwide on March 26, 2013. Two special editions came out for each platform. The Special Edition has an art book, a propaganda poster, a mini-figurine of the Handyman, a keychain and the soundtrack, with in-game codes for special powers, and for consoles extra themes. The Ultimate Songbird Edition adds a Songbird statuette designed by Irrational's Robb Waters. After launch came Clash in the Clouds (July 30, 2013) and the two-part story expansion Burial at Sea (November 12, 2013 and March 25, 2014).

BioShock Infinite received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its story, setting, visual design and art direction. Review aggregates called it universal acclaim, with scores of 93 to 94 out of 100 across platforms. It was the third-highest rated game of 2013, behind Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us, and won Game of the Year from several publications.

It was the top-selling console game in the United States for March 2013 with more than 878,000 units, and Take-Two reported 4 million copies sold by July 2013. It has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide. BioShock Infinite: The Complete Edition came out on November 4, 2014, and the game was re-released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch as part of BioShock: The Collection.

Official trailer

Bioshock Infinite Launch Trailer, PlayStation. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

BioShock Infinite (Xbox 360) - Full Game HD Walkthrough - No Commentary, ToughGamingGuy. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

First-person shooter

Developer

Irrational Games

Publisher

2K

Series

BioShock

Engine

Unreal Engine 3

Composers

Garry Schyman

Writers

Ken Levine

Producers

Adrian Murphy

Directors

Ken Levine

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Subscription history

Disc IDs

The serial printed on the disc and the case. It tells you which region a copy is from.

Achievements

Achievements80 (1,695G)

1000G possibleYes

Total

80

Gamerscore

1695

DLC note

A SuperCheats page lists extra DLC achievements; the count was not confirmed.

Gamerscore, base game

1000

Grind

• Eavesdropper: all Voxophones
• Sightseer: all telescopes and Kinetoscopes
• Auld Lang Syne (75G): finish 1999 Mode
• Scavenger Hunt (75G): 1999 Mode without Dollar Bill purchases

• Written in the Clouds In the Main Campaign, completed Lighthouse. 5G 99.82% of players
• Welcome to Monument Island Reached Monument Island. 10G 82.8% of players
• Shock Tactics Retrieved Shock Jockey. 10G 74.73% of players
• First Class Ticket In the Main Campaign, boarded The First Lady. 10G 71.99% of players
• Armed Revolt Assisted the Gunsmith. 10G 65.6% of players
• Working Class Hero In the Main Campaign, completed Factory. 25G 64.32% of players
• Blood in the Streets Completed Emporia. 25G 59.12% of players
• Higher Learning Completed Comstock House. 25G 58.3% of players
• Tin Soldier Completed the Main Campaign on Easy difficulty or above. 10G 55% of players
• Saw the Elephant Completed the Main Campaign on Normal difficulty or above. 25G 45.36% of players
• Stone Cold Pinkerton Completed the Main Campaign on Hard difficulty or above. 50G 15.07% of players
• Auld Lang Syne Completed the Main Campaign on 1999 mode. 75G 7.51% of players
• Should Auld Acquaintance... Unlocked 1999 mode. 10G 56.75% of players
• Industrial Accident In the Main Campaign, killed 20 enemies with a Sky-Hook Execution. 5G 38.15% of players
• Aerial Assassin In the Main Campaign, killed 20 enemies with a Sky-Line Strike. 5G 35.55% of players
• A Real Pistol In the Main Campaign, killed 25 enemies with the Broadsider Pistol. 5G 77.51% of players
• Passionately Reciprocated In the Main Campaign, killed 150 enemies with the Founder Triple R Machine Gun or Vox Repeater. 5G 38.54% of players
• Street Sweeper In the Main Campaign, killed 50 enemies with the Founder China Broom Shotgun or Vox Heater. 5G 53.21% of players
• Big Game Hunter In the Main Campaign, killed 100 enemies with the Founder Huntsman Carbine or Vox Burstgun. 5G 44.9% of players
• Loose Cannon In the Main Campaign, killed 25 enemies with the Paddywhacker Hand Cannon. 5G 42.52% of players
• On a Clear Day... In the Main Campaign, killed 30 enemies with the Bird's Eye Sniper Rifle. 5G 49.16% of players
• Here Little Piggy In the Main Campaign, killed 30 enemies with the Founder Pig Volley Gun or Vox Hail Fire. 5G 34.5% of players
• Master of Pyrotechnics In the Main Campaign, killed 20 enemies with the Barnstormer RPG. 5G 45% of players
• Seasoned to Taste In the Main Campaign, killed 30 enemies with the Peppermill Crank Gun. 5G 31.57% of players
• Well Rounded In the Main Campaign, used all 8 Vigors against enemies. 10G 45.97% of players
• Vigorous Opposition In the Main Campaign, killed 75 enemies with a Vigor or while the enemy is affected by a Vigor. 50G 64.16% of players
• More for Your Money In the Main Campaign, lured 3 enemies into a single Vigor trap 5 times. 25G 33.61% of players
• Combination Shock In the Main Campaign, performed all 8 of the Vigor combinations. 50G 14.64% of players
• Mind Over Matter In the Main Campaign, killed 20 enemies using Possessed machines. 10G 17.66% of players
• Tear 'em a New One In the Main Campaign, opened 30 Tears. 25G 64.34% of players
• Strange Bedfellows In the Main Campaign, killed 20 enemies using allies brought in through a Tear. 10G 32.85% of players
• On the Fly In the Main Campaign, killed 30 enemies while riding a Sky-Line. 10G 14.74% of players
• Bolt From the Blue In the Main Campaign, killed 5 enemies with a headshot while riding a Sky-Line. 25G 19.73% of players
• Hazard Pay In the Main Campaign, killed 10 enemies by utilizing environmental hazards. 25G 38.14% of players
• Bon Voyage In the Main Campaign, killed 20 enemies by knocking them off Columbia. 25G 17.12% of players
• Skeet Shoot In the Main Campaign, killed 5 enemies while they are falling. 25G 18.24% of players
• Lost Weekend In the Main Campaign, killed 5 enemies while you are drunk. 10G 10.89% of players
• David & Goliath In the Main Campaign, killed 20 "Heavy Hitter" enemies. 10G 66.16% of players
• Heartbreaker In the Main Campaign, killed a Handyman by only shooting his heart. 50G 16.85% of players
• Dress for Success In the Main Campaign, equipped a piece of Gear in all four slots. 5G 67.58% of players
• Kitted Out In the Main Campaign, fully upgraded one weapon and one Vigor. 10G 48.38% of players
• Raising the Bar In the Main Campaign, upgraded one attribute (Health, Shield, or Salts) to its maximum level. 10G 27.83% of players
• Infused with Greatness In the Main Campaign, collected every Infusion upgrade in a single game. 25G 10.93% of players
• Sightseer In the Main Campaign, used all telescopes and Kinetoscopes in the game. 50G 8.71% of players
• The Roguish Type In the Main Campaign, used Elizabeth to pick 30 locks. 25G 56.96% of players
• Eavesdropper In the Main Campaign, collected every Voxophone. 50G 9.33% of players
• Grand Largesse In the Main Campaign, spent $10,000 at the vending machines of Columbia. 10G 47.63% of players
• Coins in the Cushion In the Main Campaign, looted 200 containers. 10G 65.74% of players
• Scavenger Hunt Completed the Main Campaign in 1999 mode without buying anything from a Dollar Bill vending machine. 75G 7.01% of players
• The Bird or The Cage Completed The Hand of the Prophet. 25G 54.95% of players
• Friendly Skies Defeated all waves in The OPS Zeal. 15G 4.91% of players
• Duke or Dimwit? Defeated all waves in Duke and Dimwit Theater. 15G 4.04% of players
• Rooftop Ruffian Defeated all waves in Raven's Dome. 15G 3.76% of players
• Hand of the Prophet Defeated all waves in Emporia Arcade. 30G 3.31% of players
• Museum Curator In CitC, unlocked all Gallery items. 15G 3.8% of players
• Sergeant-at-Arms In CitC, got a kill with each weapon and vigor (except Bucking Bronco). 15G 3.05% of players
• Rope-a-Dope In CitC, knocked an enemy off the city with Undertow, then rescued him, then knocked him off again. 15G 3.75% of players
• The Ol' One-Two In CitC, used all eight different vigor combos to deliver the killing blow on an enemy. 15G 2.54% of players
• Missile Defense System In CitC, killed an enemy with splash damage by shooting a rocket out of the air. 30G 3.79% of players
• Blue Ribbon Champ In CitC, completed all Blue Ribbon Challenges. 30G 1.62% of players
• Down in the Briney Took a Bathysphere ride in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 25G 12.59% of players
• Burial at Sea Completed Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 50G 11.04% of players
• Audio Enthusiast Collected all Audio Diaries in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 50G 4.6% of players
• Fully Equipped Purchased any two upgrades for Old Man Winter or Radar Range in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 10G 6.3% of players
• Confirmed Luddite Destroyed ten Turrets in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 10G 5% of players
• Cook and Serve Made 5 enemies explode with the Radar Range in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 10G 8.18% of players
• Chain Reaction Damaged fifteen foes with an exploding enemy, using the Radar Range in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 50G 4.91% of players
• Break the Ice Shattered 5 enemies who had been frozen with Old Man Winter in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 10G 8.14% of players
• Snowball Effect Froze 2 enemies with the same Old Man Winter trap in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 10G 6.64% of players
• Going Places Rode the tram in Burial at Sea - Episode 1. 25G 11.49% of players
• Up and Running Repaired the machine in Suchong's lab in Burial at Sea - Episode 2. 25G 8.12% of players
• Mein Hair Delivered the hair sample in Burial at Sea - Episode 2. 25G 7.93% of players
• Paid in Full Completed Burial at Sea - Episode 2. 50G 7.73% of players
• The Whole Story Collected all Audio Diaries and Voxophones in Burial at Sea - Episode 2. 50G 3.4% of players
• Taffer's Delight Completed Burial at Sea - Episode 2 in 1998 mode. 50G 2.66% of players
• Making Some Noise Gained five noisemakers through lockpicking. 10G 6.65% of players
• Twofer Knocked out two or more enemies using the same crossbow bolt. 10G 8.01% of players
• Glutton for Punishment Used Ironsides to collect 20 rounds of ammo or more in Burial at Sea - Episode 2. 10G 3.47% of players
• Dead Drop On three occasions, knocked out an enemy after silently dropping off a Freight Hook. 10G 4.83% of players
• Never Saw It Coming While invisible, used Peeping Tom to knock out 15 enemies with a melee attack. 10G 5.22% of players

Space and patches

Space needed13.83 GB

Update patchTitle update 7

The title updates on record for this game.

DLC

Clash in the Clouds and the two Burial at Sea episodes add 30 achievements. They are still sold on the Xbox store for the backward compatible version on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, singly or in the US$19.99 Season Pass.

Items

Name	Adds	Obtainable today	Price
Clash in the Clouds	Released 30 July 2013. A non-story arena mode with waves of enemies on maps based on in-game settings. 10 achievements worth 195G.	yes	US$4.99
Burial at Sea - Episode 1	Released 12 November 2013. A story set in Rapture that links Infinite to the first BioShock. 10 achievements worth 250G.	yes	US$14.99
Burial at Sea - Episode 2	Released 25 March 2014. The second part of the Rapture story. 10 achievements worth 250G.	yes	US$14.99
Columbia's Finest Pack	A small add-on pack sold on the Xbox store.	yes	US$4.99
Season Pass	Clash in the Clouds and both Burial at Sea episodes.	yes	US$19.99

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single player only, with no online features. The disc plays offline and the add-ons are still sold.

Online

Online servers runningNo online features

Plays offlineYes

Single player only. There is no online play.

Services

Service	Status
Online multiplayer	Does not exist

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	Xbox 360	93	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
IGN	9.5	10
Official Xbox Magazine	9.5	10
Game Informer	10	10
Eurogamer	10	10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	10	10
GameSpot	9	10
Edge	9	10
GamesRadar	5	5
Joystiq	5	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Ken Levine
Producer	Adrian Murphy
Programmer	Christopher Kline
Artist	Scott Sinclair
Writer	Ken Levine
Composer	Garry Schyman

Cast

Character	Actor
Booker DeWitt	Troy Baker
Elizabeth	Courtnee Draper

Notes for collectors

• The cover art drew criticism for leaving out Elizabeth, and Irrational ran a poll and made alternate covers available to print for the reversible sleeve.
• Earlier plans for multiplayer, a tower defense mode called Border Control and a four-player co-op mode, were dropped. The game shipped single-player only.
• Unlocking 1999 mode, the hard mode, is an achievement, and finishing it is worth 75 gamerscore.
• Scavenger Hunt asks you to finish 1999 mode without buying anything from a Dollar Bill vending machine.
• The Xbox 360 list has 80 achievements for 1,695 gamerscore: 50 in the base game for 1,000, then 10 each across Clash in the Clouds and both Burial at Sea episodes for 695.
• The Premium and Ultimate Songbird editions came with Booker and Elizabeth Avatar costumes on Xbox 360.
• Burial at Sea Episode 2 has an achievement for finishing it in 1998 mode.

Credits

Publisher

2K

Developer

Irrational Games

Director

Ken Levine

Released

2013-03-26

Age rating

M (Mature 17+)

Region

US

Time to beat

about 11.5 hours

Copies in the shop

• BioShock Infinite (XBOX 360) CA$14.99