When most of Irrational Games was laid off earlier this year many assumed it was the last we'd see of BioShock, at least until 2K Games mustered the courage to have one developed by a secondary studio ala BioShock 2. Nonetheless, it would appear something BioShock related is about to happen, because 2K Games posted this teaser image (above) on its official Twitter account earlier today, along with the text: "Oooo, what COULD this mean?!".

What's a scantily clad woman with an apple got to do with BioShock? Well, in dark lettering at the bottom of that image is a reference to Poseidon Plaza, which is a prominent location in the original BioShock. The reference seems to indicate that we might see a repackaging of the original game in the not-too-distant future. Whether that repackaging is relevant to PC owners is another question.

After all, it's unlikely the teaser is related to a brand new BioShock game. BioShock Infinite only released last year and if there was a fourth BioShock game, surely it wouldn't return to Rapture? Surely? In the meantime all we can do is speculate.

We've now been living and breathing the Steam Summer Sale for a week, losing sleep for every flash sale, antsy with anticipation every time the new deals tick over. We're feverish from the savings, but it would be madness to stop saving now. Today's deals fuel our appetite for strategy, shooting, and launching valiant little green men into space on absurdly oversized rockets.

Don t forget to check out GOG s summer deals, too.

Reminder: if a game isn't a daily deal or a flash sale, it could pop up later in the sale for an even lower price. If you want to be safe, wait until June 30 to pick up a sale-long deal.
5 - The Banner Saga
50% off: $12.49 / 9.49 - Steam store page
One of the biggest artistic achievements in gaming this year. We love The Banner Saga s hand-drawn characters and how they animate on the battlefield, but we especially enjoy the way its detailed, Nordic landscapes parallax as your caravan of warriors and survivors march on. The Austin Wintory score is a cherry on the top.
4 - Kerbal Space Program
40% off: $16.19 / 11.99 - Steam store page
We ve murdered a lot of aliens in games, but only in KSP have we stranded little green guys in planetary orbit due to our grossly incompetent management of a budding space program. The Early Access rocket physics simulator is one of the best games still under development, and already has a large community of engineers sharing stories of harrowing space missions, ship designs, and mods. KSP has even made its way into classrooms.

Read Ian s five-part Kerbal Space Program chronicle to see how he learned rocket-building basics and launched a mission to the M n.
3 - Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
50% off: $7.49 / 5.99 - Steam store page
The best competitive FPS on PC owes a lot to its skill-based matchmaking format. At any skill level, five-on-five Counter-Strike narrows the range of tactical choices available to you and the time you have to make them, creating a wonderfully concentrated competitive mode. Otherwise, CS:GO is mainly a vehicle for microtransactions: beware the allure of $400 virtual knives.
2 - Tomb Raider
75% off: $4.99 / 3.74 - Steam store page Flash sale: Buy it before 8 p.m. EST
Lara Croft returns in a gorgeous action game heavily inspired by Naughty Dog's Uncharted series. This younger, rebooted Lara doesn't have her predecessor's confidence or predilection for interesting puzzles the only tombs in this game are disappointingly short and simple but the shooting is by far the best in the series. Exploring Tomb Raider's island and crafting survival gear is also fun, as Lara is a nimble climber and each area is packed with interesting treasures to hunt down. For a challenge, forgo the assault rifle and grenade launcher for Lara's incredibly satisfying (and silent!) bow.
1 - BioShock Triple Pack
83% off: $10.19 / 6.79 - Steam store page
If you haven t explored the ruins of Rapture, you re in for a treat. BioShock s world is a revelation, an under-the-sea society that s crumbled under its own weight, and exploring what remains of it and shooting its crazy inhabitants in the face with fireballs is a delight. BioShock 2 goes even further, changing your perspective and adding a surprising amount of depth with its own story. Irrational s swansong, BioShock Infinite, may still be polarizing, but Columbia is just as beautiful and terrifying as Rapture, and well worth exploring. All three are included here in a bundle that s too cheap to pass up.

Other great deals today
Remember that games not categorized as Daily Deals or Flash Sales may be reduced further later in the sale.

Bastion (40% off) $8.99 / 6.59
Killing Floor (50% off) $9.99 / 7.49
Mirror's Edge (75% off) $4.99 / 2.49
Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition (66% off) $6.79 / 5.09

When Irrational Games closed earlier this year many assumed it would mark the end of the BioShock series. While critically adored, 2013 s BioShock Infinite did not attract the astronomical sales figures video game publishers expect nowadays. But according to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, a future for the series has not been ruled out. In fact, during an address at the Cowen and Company analyst conference last week, attended by Gamespot, he explicitly stated that the future of the series lay in the hands of 2K Marin.
"We haven't given any colour on how you should think about yet except we do believe it's beloved. We think it's important certainly something that we're focused on; something 2K Marin will be responsible for shepherding going forward.
I think there's a lot of upside in that franchise," Zelnick continued. "It hasn't necessarily been realised 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 commented on Take-Two s strongest performing IPs: Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands. While there s still no news on whether Rockstar will release PC editions of Red Dead Redemption or Grand Theft Auto 5, Zelnick did say that both were permanent franchises: evidence enough that a Red Dead Redemption sequel will appear one of these days.
He also took an opportunity to engage in one of the video game world s favourite pastimes: sledging Duke Nukem Forever. Noting that Take-Two s success rate is unusually high due to their careful approach to nurturing IPs, Zelnick admitted that Duke Nukem Forever was a mistake.
"We have a really high hit ratio. It's probably not realistic to believe it could be much higher than it is, he said.
We've had precious few flops. And at least, of the few I can think of - and I can think of a few, sadly - at least one of them was just a misguided decision on my part, which was Duke Nukem.

What if Elizabeth tore open a rift, but instead of yanking out a crate of guns or a Gatling-wielding automaton, she withdraws a square-shaped chunk of grass before chucking it at your face with a "Booker, catch!"? I'd sputter in confusion, but that probably also means BioShock Infinite's heroine found her way to the Minecraft-ed version of the floating city of Columbia. Constructed by architect group TheVoxelBox of the Planet Minecraft fansite, the city boasts superb detail and personality worthy of the game's best custom creations.

It's clear Columbia's builders focused on capturing each hovering platform's neoclassical feel right down to the giant propellers keeping everything in the sky and a bright palette reminiscent of Infinite's rich coloring. What's missing, sadly, is Elizabeth's towering, angel-shaped prison and a bunch of uncomfortably nationalist posters. Still, I can just imagine enjoying a freedom dog in the market district, a blocky Lutece urging me on from some shadowy corner: "Bring us the cube, and wipe away the debt."

Here's some more screenshots of Columbia in Minecraft from TheVoxelBox. Be sure to spot the Vox Populi airship looming above and the cheery storefront with the always-welcome "PIE" sign. The actual map file and schematic are also free to download and use.

BioShock Infinite had some great original songs and arrangements. You can buy the original game s soundtrack, but there s some new music in the recently released Burial at Sea DLC that you couldn't easily listen to, until recently. Irrational Games posted three full, original songs from Burial at Sea to its official website, along with some commentary from the game s Music Director, Jim Bonney.
Bonney describes the first song, Little Sisters Song, as an idealistic musical conversation between Mama Tenenbaum and the little sisters. I was thinking about ways to create depth in daily life in Rapture, and thought that the Little Sisters Home could use a little propaganda music, he said. A song that would ease the minds of the citizens that little girls being taken from their families was really just another example of living the Objectivist s Dream!


The Pie Song, which is in the style of a 50s folk protest song, was produced by Marc Lacuesta and performed by Korby Lenker.

And the final song is Old Man Winter Jingle, which promotes the Old Man Winter Plasmid. The announcer you hear in the end is actually Irrational Games Senior Sound Designer Jeff Seamster.


For more behind the scenes stories on original music in Bioshock Infinite, check out Irrational Games official blog.