The long-troubled BioShock movie, which Gore Verbinski was once set to direct, is officially dead in the water. Creator Ken Levine has confirmed that he personally offed it when given the opportunity, as the movie adaptation risked compromising too much just so it could get made.

Read more: "How many times in life do you not need to compromise?" »

If you have skipped the BioShock series for some reason, perhaps due to a lengthy coma or immense silliness, you'll soon be able to make amends with one handy bundle. Publisher 2K today announced the BioShock: Ultimate Rapture Edition collection, which bundles the first two games together with all their DLC. Super keen BioShock fans may be interested too, as it introduces a new virtual museum level filled with BioShock history.

Read more: Challenge Rooms no longer PS3-exclusive »

Now is your chance to shoot up with plasmids and waltz with a few Big Daddies and Little Sisters. The GameFly PC client is coming out of beta today, and to celebrate, the company is giving away a trip to Andrew Ryan's underwater paradise of Rapture with a free PC copy of BioShock.

Read more: Supplies are limited »

GameFly's Unlimited PC Play program has expanded today. Members that missed out on BioShock, Civilization IV or X-Com: Enforcer, can now play them as part of a paid GameFly membership.

Read more: GameFly partners with 2K Games »

Two video game movers and shakers are getting high-profile attention from outside the video game sphere, as part of Time's Top 100 Influential People. Irrational head and gaming luminary Ken Levine and Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus share the honor with political figures, entertainers, and thought leaders across a broad spectrum.

Read more: Levine in second place so far »

Progress moves slowly in Hollywood. Take BioShock and its associated movie project. The film has stalled over and over again, and now it's hit another roadblock. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the director brought in after Gore Verbinksi left the project, has said that he's no longer attached.

Read more: 'By now, I'm completely out of that' »

When the original BioShock gained critical and commercial success in 2007, it immediately caught the attention of Hollywood. Since then, a planned movie adaptation has languished with budget concerns and changing directors. Now, series creator Ken Levine says the movie is still being discussed, in spite of the studio's focus on BioShock Infinite.

Read more: 'We don't have any need to get a movie made' »

Delightful digital distributor Steam is running some stonking mid-week sales. To celebrate the launch of Magicka's Vietnam add-on today, there's 50% off the splendid action-RPG. You can also get 75% off BioShock and BioShock 2 for today alone, as part of 2K's daily deals promotion.

For a bargain $7.99, you can pick up the Magicka Complete Pack, which contains the original game, the pre-order bonus Wizard's Survival Kit DLC, and the Vietnam add-on. You can also get one copy of the base game alone for $4.99, or four for only $14.99. Read more »

Take Two Interactive has lost a legal tussle over the rights to the URL bioshock.com against the domain squatting company Name Administration Inc. (NA Media), Gamer/Law reports.

According to the report [via GamesIndustry.biz], a World Intellectual Property Organisation legal panel overseeing the case felt that Take Two failed to prove NA Media had registered the website in bad faith. NA Media first registered the URL in 2004, prior to Take Two registering the name as a trademark, but after the game was "unofficially announced." Read more »

Sticking with the "midweek madness" initiative, digital distributor Steam has revealed that all Men of War (PC) games will be 66% off through Thursday, January 21.

In other words, the first entry in 1C Company, Digitalmindsoft and Best Way's historical strategy series can be had at $5.09, the expansion-turned-sequel Red Tide is $8.49, and Men of War: Gold Edition, which bundles the two, is currently $11.89. Read more »

Four months after the BioShock movie was placed "in a holding pattern" over budget concerns, Variety reports that Gore Verbinski has abdicated the director's chair and 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks to succeed him.

Universal Pictures ultimately decided to film the movie abroad to take advantage of tax credits and exchange rates, a decision which would clash with Pirates of the Caribbean director Verbinski's schedule for his next project--though he is still attached to produce. Read more »

The studio behind BioShock is now working on a new shooter, entirely unsurprising job listings have confirmed.

2K Boston is seeking a principal combat designer, level designer and a multiplayer level designer to work on the unannounced project.

Studio chief Ken Levine has long been rumored to be leading his team in development of a sequel to the tactical classic X-Com.

An unlikely pair bonded mostly by critical acclaim and a mutual publisher, 2K Boston and Australia's narrative-driven shooter BioShock will soon be sold in a bundle alongside the standard edition of Bethesda's open-world fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Publisher 2K Games announced the package today, boasting that the games have a "combined bounty of more than 80 Game of the Year awards." Read more »

BioShock is set to expand into literary realms this fall with a novel published by sci-fi and fantasy publisher Tor Books, according to a book catalogue received by Gamasutra.

An included sample page is credited to BioShock writer and creative director Ken Levine, but Gamasutra speculates this might credit concepts not authorship. All that's certain is that the novel will run 400 pages and be available in hardcover and paperback. Read more »

The film adaptation of 2K Boston and Australia's BioShock (PC, PS3, 360) has been put in a "holding pattern" over budget concerns, director Gore Verbinski informed Variety.

"We were asked by Universal to move the film outside the U.S. to take advantage of a tax credit," the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy director explained. "We are evaluating whether this is something we want to do...the film is in a holding pattern." Read more »