BioShock and the upcoming Judas game director Ken Levine shared memories of his time at Irrational Games. The developer admitted that the existence of the original BioShock was in doubt due to a lack of interest from publishers.

When Irrational created a "cheap prototype" and started showing it to publishers, they began to politely decline. The studio then decided to take a different approach and show the game to journalists. After media outlets started writing about the game, companies began to call.

Publishing rights for the game, which was named BioShock, were acquired by 2K Games, which then also bought the studio. However, Levine mentioned that even with additional funding from the publisher, the game's budget was lower than that of its competitors.

The development was more expensive and took longer than 2K Games wanted, and according to Levine, the company "almost canceled" BioShock. However, it is unclear whether the project was truly at risk or if the publisher was merely pushing the developers.

Currently, 2K is working on the next BioShock without Ken Levine's involvement. He is now working on a spiritually similar game, Judas, at his studio Ghost Story Games.

Main image: alphacoders.com

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