Players fell in love with the BioShock series from the moment they escaped from a crashed plane, entered a mysterious lighthouse, and embarked on an underwater voyage to the crumbling city of Rapture. Frequently mentioned and revered, his Irrational Games immersive action-horror classic is considered by many to be a masterpiece, and has grown into a long-running series in the years since its debut.
But in classic BioShock fashion, that sequel was the furthest thing from traditional. As expected for a series that relies on otherworldly scientific discoveries and reality-shaking experiments, BioShock’s story frequently switches between alternate worlds, disrupting the game’s chronological order.
So for those looking for a linear way to play through the entire BioShock story, here’s a quick chronological guide to the BioShock series.
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How many BioShock games are there?
In total, 4 BioShock games (three released on home consoles and PC, and one released only on PC via a web browser) and three expansions.
This list does not include remasters or ports, including the BioShock Collection, which bundles remasters of the entire trilogy and its expansions. It also does not include challenge map packs such as Clash in the Clouds or BioShock’s Challenge Rooms DLC. These are purely gameplay focused and are therefore considered non-genuine versions.
All BioShock games in chronological order
These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.
1. BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution
Released as a pre-order bonus for BioShock Infinite, BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution was a browser-based Flash game that served as a prequel to the story of Infinite. By casting players as workers completing gear-based puzzles, customers who pre-ordered Industrial Revolution can now unlock special items and upgrades that transfer to BioShock Infinite.
As players completed challenges, they learned more about the conflicts occurring in the world of Infinite, including the battle between Vox Populi and the Founders. You can also choose which of the two groups to support and earn different rewards as a result.
Note: This game was shut down 10 years ago and is no longer available to play online.
2. Bioshock Infinite
BioShock’s third mainline game, BioShock Infinite, features a Pinkerton detective named Booker DeWitt. Deep in debt, DeWitt is given the simple task of canceling it. His mission is to travel to the city of Colombia and find a mysterious girl named Elizabeth.
However, once Dewitt arrives in Columbia, things are far from simple. Columbia is a city floating above the clouds, and its citizens brand Booker a “false shepherd” and band together to execute him. Things get even weirder when Booker eventually finds and rescues Elizabeth. Elizabeth reveals that she can shed tears in reality and that she can reach other universes.
Teaming up with Elizabeth to escape from Colombia, players are taken on an adventure through the flying metropolis, confronting locals, towering mechanical security robots, and Elizabeth’s merciless bodyguard, Songbird. Masu. Along the way, they use Elizabeth’s unique powers to open rifts to other dimensions, allowing them to utilize her talents to scavenge her resources and venture into entirely new realities.
read our article Bioshock Infinite review.
3. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Part 1
Set in the same universe as BioShock and BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Part 1 is the first of two expansions for BioShock Infinite. This DLC centers on the otherworldly Booker DeWitt, who works as a private investigator in the city of Rapture. Set before the fall of Rapture, the game begins with DeWitt meeting Elizabeth, who tasks him with helping rescue a missing girl named Sally.
The first part of Burial at Sea allows players to explore a fully operational Rapture set before the events of the first game. The DLC not only lets you see the city as it once was, but also includes some returning faces from previous Rapture adventures, including Thunder Cohen and Yi Su Chong.
read our article Burial at Sea Episode 1 review.
4. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Part 2
It takes place immediately after the events of Burial at Sea – Part 1, Burial at Sea – Part 2, and switches control from Booker to Elizabeth. After awakening after the dramatic ending of the previous expansion, Elizabeth meets Atlas, who makes a deal with Atlas to let her and Sally live if he helps her escape from Fontaine Department Store and return to Rapture.
Employing a new stealth-centric playstyle to match Elizabeth’s skill set, players explore Fontaine’s Department Store and try to find a way to return to Rapture and save Sally. Burial at Sea – Part 2 was Irrational Games and BioShock creator Ken Levine’s final take on his BioShock world. It attempts to wrap up some of the franchise’s biggest mysteries while directly setting up the events of the original game.
read our article Burial at Sea Episode 2 review.
5. Bioshock
The series’ debut, BioShock follows Jack, the sole survivor of a catastrophic plane crash. Fleeing the wreckage of the accident, he takes refuge in a mysterious lighthouse, where he discovers a submarine that takes him to the underwater city of Rapture. Although the city looks like a technological marvel from a distance, Jack soon realizes that it is not the maritime utopia it seems.
Envisioned as a neon-lit metropolis where society’s brightest minds would be granted moral and creative freedom without government interference, Rapture had become a desolate wasteland by the time Jack arrived. Blood-soaked streets are patrolled by monstrous citizens killing each other in search of a gene-splicing drug known as Adam, while Andrew Ryan, the city’s shadowy founder, rules the ruins with an iron fist. ing.
Teaming up with a fellow survivor named Atlas, players adventure through the city, aiming to escape Rapture and return to Earth. In the process, they gain access to plasmids, powerful injections that release elemental powers. In the years since its release, BioShock has become a classic, and many consider it one of the best games of all time.
read our article bioshock review.
6. Bioshock 2
BioShock’s sequel, BioShock 2, was developed by 2K Marin rather than Irrational. His BioShock 2, which straps players into Big Daddy’s giant suit, takes players back to Rapture, a submerged dystopia eight years after the events of BioShock.
Taking control of a Big Daddy codenamed Subject Delta, the story follows our towering hero as he explores the ruins of Rapture, searching for the Little Sister he once protected. Along the way, he is pursued by Sophia Lamb, a scientist who filled the power vacuum left by the deaths of Frank Fontaine and Andrew Ryan.
BioShock 2 was primarily a continuation of the first game’s gameplay and themes, but featured a plethora of brutal Big Daddy weapons and a new mechanic that allowed players to protect Little Sister while they scavenged Adam.
read our article Bioshock 2 review.
7. BioShock 2: Minerva’s Lair
An expansion for BioShock 2 that takes place parallel to the events of the main campaign, Minerva’s Den follows a second Big Daddy, codenamed Subject Sigma. Tasked with tracking down and accessing The Thinker (Rapture’s computer mainframe), Sigma teams up with the system’s creator, Charles Milton Porter, to retrieve it.
Minerva’s Den offered a short campaign that filled in some important Rapture lore and offered new gear like the ion laser and gravity well plasmid. Minerva’s Den currently marks the end of the BioShock timeline.
read our article Bioshock 2: Minerva’s Den review.
How to play the BioShock series by release date
- BioShock (2007)
- BioShock: Challenge Room (2008)*
- BioShock 2 (2010)
- BioShock 2: Minerva’s Cave (2010)
- BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution (2013)
- BioShock Infinite (2013)
- BioShock Infinite: Clash in the Clouds (2013)*
- BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Part 1 (2013)
- BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Part 2 (2014)
*Non-canon
What’s next for BioShock?
Plans for a major BioShock revival are already well underway. After years of leaks and rumors, 2K has officially announced that a new entry in the series will be coming in 2019, tentatively named Bioshock 4. After the closure of Irrational Games, the developer’s Cloud Chamber will be the brains behind the next BioShock, but has little track record. Indicates how far along the reboot is currently.
We know it’s in the works, but we haven’t yet seen the sequel in action or heard more about the direction of Cloud Chamber’s series. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any information regarding a sequel. First of all, I know that Ghost of Tsushima writer Liz Arbre brought this up. The role of the main character in the story. The game seems to follow in the footsteps of BioShock Infinite by opting for an unconventional setting, with the job listing referring to a team building “a new and fantastical world.”
The sequel isn’t the only highly anticipated BioShock product currently in development. Fast forward to 2022, Netflix will Original Bioshock movie adaptation. Netflix later announced that the film will be directed by Francis Lawrence, director of “I Am Legend” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Snakes,” and the screenplay will be written by “Blade Runner 2049” and “Logan.” It has been announced that Michael Green, one of the screenwriters, will be in charge.
BioShock creator Ken Levine’s next project, judahis also under development. From the early looks we saw at The Game Awards in 2022, it looks like it will be similar to BioShock, from its dual-wield combat to its high-concept sci-fi setting. If all goes to plan, BioShock fans will be treated to a feast of his twisted sci-fi goodness for years to come.
Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with many years of experience as a games critic, news reporter, guide writer and features writer.