A new BioShock game is on the horizon, and players looking to jump into the first three games before it releases have a bit of a time commitment if they plan on playing them back-to-back. Each of 2K's BioShock games tosses players into strange and menacing worlds and asks them to fight for survival using a combination of weapons and Plasmids. All of the games are iconic, delivering a masterclass in storytelling, level design, and gameplay mechanics that players should experience for themselves.
News about a new BioShock game started back in 2019 when 2K launched development studio Cloud Chamber under its label and announced the studio's involvement in developing the upcoming title. Multiple job listings have confirmed that the game will be developed using Unreal Engine 5 and include an open-world setting for players to explore that presumably won't be Rapture or Columbia from the previous games. It still remains to be seen if BioShock 4 will be a direct sequel to BioShock 2 or BioShock Infinite, or will go the route of being a completely original adventure with a new cast of characters.
Thanks to a recent Nvidia database leak, the release window for BioShock 4 has been allegedly established as 2022. This makes for the perfect time for fans to return to the iconic series, or for new players to experience the worlds of Rapture and Columbia for the first time. Here's how long each game takes to complete individually, and a total combined playtime for players looking to binge through the series.
How Long BioShock Is
The original BioShock takes place in 1960, following the tale of sole plane crash survivor Jack as he stumbles upon the entrance to the underwater city of Rapture in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Jack becomes trapped in Rapture and has to fight his way through the twisted inhabitants of the city to try and find a way back to the surface. HowLongToBeat places the average runtime of BioShock's main story at around 12 hours, while completionists will be looking at a much longer playtime of 22 hours.
How Long BioShock 2 Takes To Beat
The second entry in the series takes place 10 years after the original, putting players in the shoes of a prototype Big Daddy in BioShock 2 named Subject Delta. Subject Delta sets out on a quest to find the Little Sister that he was formerly bonded to, facing a host of new enemies and a much different Rapture this time around. On average, it takes about 11 hours to beat BioShock 2 when solely focusing on the main story, while completionists will once again put in around 22 hours to achieve everything in the game (outside of the DLC stories).
How Long BioShock Infinite's Main Story Is
The third game in the series takes players out of the underwater world of Rapture and into the airborne city of Columbia circa 1912. The game follows the story of Booker DeWitt, who has been given a mission of finding a mysterious woman named Elizabeth to help wipe his debts clean. The two become allies instead and attempt to escape Columbia while dealing with nefarious forces and uncovering the city's secrets. The main story takes about 11.5 hours to beat, and completionists are looking at a total playtime of 27 hours to fully explore Columbia.
In total, players intent on only experiencing the main stories of the BioShock franchise consecutively are looking at a total playtime of around 34.5 hours. Completionists are looking at a much longer haul to experience everything each game has to offer at around 71 hours. It's a decent time commitment for sure, but completely doable and worth it to experience the wonderfully twisted BioShock franchise.
Source: HowLongToBeat