Despite having released back in 2013, BioShock Infinite has been back in the news in the past week or so due to a number of mysterious updates to the PC version of the game. The third instalment of the series changed the setting from the underwater city of Rapture to the city in the sky of Columbia. But what do all these BioShock Infinite updates actually mean? Here’s what we know so far.
Everything You Need to Know About the Recent BioShock Infinite Updates
There have been 13 updates in just March 2022 alone, but the series of updates to BioShock Infinite began in September last year, as noted by TheGamer. This initially started off as about seven updates a month in 2021, before reaching 10 updates a month this year, before hitting its new record of 13 this month.
From a quick glance at BioShock Infinite’s SteamDB updates history page, it’s not clear what these updates are changing. Loading up the game after these updates, from our own experience, hasn’t changed anything in-game. Or at least, it hasn’t changed anything immediately noticeable.
So just what are all these updates doing?
Steam Deck Compatibility
One of the most popular theories at the moment is that 2K Games is making BioShock Infinite compatible with the Steam Deck, Valve’s new handheld PC system.
Given the game wasn’t officially compatible with the system at launch, and as we know Valve is pushing to add more and more titles to that growing compatibility list, this seems like a strong possibility. Especially so, given the significant increase in the number of updates since the Steam Deck released earlier this month.
A BioShock Infinite Remaster?
Some players on Reddit believe it could be an indication that BioShock Infinite is about to get a remaster, given we know a new BioShock is currently in development at 2K Studio, Cloud Chamber.
The BioShock trilogy did get a PS4 and Xbox One remaster in 2016, bumping up the resolution in the games to 1080p for BioShock: The Collection. Given we’re now in the 4K era on consoles, though, and with the next entry in the series (hopefully) coming in the near future, it is possible that 2K Games would look to usher in a new generation of fans to the series prior to its release with the help of a 4K remastered collection.
Unfortunately, this seems unlikely, given that both BioShock and BioShock 2 on Steam have received nowhere near the same number of updates as Infinite in recent months. There have been a few, but these all seem relatively minor.
2K Launcher Compatibility
The most boring, and unfortunately the most likely reason for all these updates, is 2K Games is gearing up its library of titles for compatibility with the rumored upcoming 2K Launcher.
Fans on Reddit have been quick to point out in the past that BioShock Infinite updates had something to do with integrating the 2K Launcher into the game, so it’s most likely these more recent updates are just a continuation of that.
At the time of writing, 2K Games hasn’t commented on the updates, so for now, the exact reason behind them is a bit of a mystery. We’d hedge our bets on the 2K Launcher, though we secretly hope for a proper remake of the entire trilogy.
What do you think the BioShock Infinite updates mean? Let us know down in the comments below.
