Players have been captivated by the BioShock series from the moment they survive a crashed plane, enter a mysterious lighthouse, and embark on their undersea journey to the crumbling city of Rapture. Often referenced and praised, Irrational Games’ immersive horror classic is considered by many to be a masterpiece, and in the years since its debut, it has blossomed into a long-running franchise.
But in classic BioShock fashion, the sequels were far from conventional. As expected for a series based on otherworldly scientific discoveries and reality-shattering experiments, BioShock’s story frequently jumps between alternate universes, leaving its games out of chronological order.
So, for those looking for a linear way to play through the entire narrative of BioShock, here’s a quick rundown of the BioShock series in chronological order.
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How many BioShock games are there?
In total, there is Four BioShock games (three were released on home console and PC and one was released exclusively on PC via web browser) and three expansions.
This list will not include remasters or ports, including the BioShock Collection, which collected remasters of the entire trilogy and its expansions. It will also not contain challenge map packs, such as Clash in the Clouds or BioShock’s Challenge Rooms DLC, as they are purely gameplay-focused and therefore illegal.
All BioShock games are arranged chronologically
This overview contains minor spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.
1. BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution
Launched as a pre-order bonus for BioShock Infinite, BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution is a browser-based Flash game that served as a prequel to the Infinite story. By casting players as workers who complete gear-based puzzles, Industrial Revolution allowed pre-ordering customers to unlock special items and upgrades that were carried over to BioShock Infinite.
As players completed challenges, they learned more about the ongoing conflicts in the Infinite universe, including the battle between the Vox Populi and the Founders. They can even choose which of the two groups to support, and unlock different rewards as a result.
NB: The game was discontinued a decade ago and is no longer available to play online.
2. Bioshock Infinite
The third mainline BioShock game, BioShock Infinite follows a Pinkerton detective named Booker Dewitt. Drowning in debt, DeWitt is given a simple mission to erase what he owes: venture into Columbia City and locate a mysterious girl named Elizabeth.
However, when DeWitt arrives in Colombia, things are far from simple. Columbia is a city floating on the clouds, and its citizens have labeled Booker a “false shepherd” and have banded together to execute him. Things get even stranger when Booker locates and finally rescues Elizabeth, who reveals that she can actually open tears, allowing her to access other universes.
Teaming up with Elizabeth to escape Colombia, players are taken on an adventure through the flying city, facing off against the locals, their towering mechanical security robots, and Elizabeth’s relentless bodyguard, Songbird. Along the way, they can open rifts to other dimensions using Elizabeth’s unique powers, use her talents to extract resources or venture into entirely new realities.
Read our Bioshock Infinite game 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. The alternate universe DLC follows Booker DeWitt who works as a private investigator in Rapture City. The game begins before the fall of Rapture, where DeWitt meets Elizabeth, who tasks him with helping her rescue a missing girl named Sally.
Burial at Sea Part 1 allows players to explore a fully functioning Rapture set before the events of the first game. Besides seeing the city as it once was, the DLC includes several returning faces from previous Rapture adventures, including Sander Cohen and Yi Suchong.
Read our Review of the series Burial at Sea, Episode 1.
4. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Part 2
Taking place directly after the events of Burial at Sea – Part 1, Burial at Sea – Part 2 shifts control from Booker to Elizabeth. Elizabeth awakens after the dramatic end of the previous expansion, and meets Atlas, who makes a deal with her: he will allow her and Sally to live if she can help him escape from the Fontaine Department Store and return to Rapture.
Taking on a new stealth-focused gameplay style to suit Elizabeth’s skill set, players explore Fontaine’s Department Store, trying to figure out how to get back to Rapture and rescue Sally. Burial at Sea – Part 2 was Irrational Games and BioShock creator Ken Levin’s latest take on the BioShock universe. It attempts to solve some of the franchise’s biggest mysteries while directly setting up the events of the original game.
Read our Review of the series Burial at Sea, Episode 2.
5. BioShock
The first entry in the franchise, BioShock follows Jack, the sole survivor of a devastating plane crash. Fleeing the wreckage of the crash, he finds refuge in a mysterious lighthouse, where he discovers a submarine that transports him to the underwater city of Rapture. Although the city looks like a technological marvel from afar, Jack quickly realizes that it is not the oceanic utopia it seems.
Envisioned as a neon-lit city where society’s greatest minds are allowed moral and creative freedom without any government interference, Rapture is a barren wasteland by the time Jack arrives. Brutal citizens patrol the blood-soaked streets and slaughter each other in search of the gene-splicing drug known as ADAM, while the city’s mysterious founder, Andrew Ryan, controls the ruins with an iron fist.
Teaming up with a fellow survivor named Atlas, players are tasked with venturing through the city and trying to escape Rapture and return to the surface. Along the way, they gain access to Plasmids, powerful injections that release elemental powers. In the years since its release, BioShock has become a cult classic, with many considering it one of the best games of all time.
Read our Bioshock review.
6. Bioshock 2
A sequel to BioShock, BioShock 2 was developed by 2K Marin rather than Irrational. By strapping players into Big Daddy’s massive suit, BioShock 2 returns players to the immersed dystopia of Rapture eight years after the events of BioShock.
Taking control of a Big Daddy codenamed Subject Delta, the story follows the towering protagonist as he searches through the ruins of Rapture for the little sister he used to protect. Along the way, he is pursued by Sophia Lamb, the scientist who filled the power vacuum left by the deaths of Frank Fontaine and Andrew Ryan.
BioShock 2 was largely a continuation of the gameplay and themes of the first game, albeit with a massive arsenal of Big Daddy’s brutal weapons and a new mechanic where players defend the Little Sisters while hunting down Adam.
Read our Bioshock 2 game review.
7. BioShock 2: Minerva’s Lair
An expansion for BioShock 2 that takes place alongside the events of the main campaign, Minerva’s Den follows a second Big Daddy codenamed Subject Sigma. Sigma is tasked with tracking down and accessing The Thinker’s main computer – Rapture – and works alongside the system’s creator, Charles Milton Porter, to restore it.
Minerva’s Den introduced a short campaign that fills in some important Rapture lore and introduces new equipment, including the Ion Laser and Gravity Well Plasmid. Minerva’s Den currently marks the end of the BioShock timeline.
Read our Review of Bioshock 2: Minerva’s Den.
How to play the BioShock series by release date
- Bioshock (2007)
- BioShock: Challenge Rooms (2008)*
- Bioshock 2 (2010)
- BioShock 2: Minerva’s Lair (2010)
- Bioshock Infinite: Industrial Revolution (2013)
- Bioshock Infinite (2013)
- BioShock Infinite: Conflict 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 are already underway for a big BioShock return. After years of leaks and rumours, 2K has officially announced that the series will be getting another entry in 2019, which we’re tentatively calling Bioshock 4. Following the closure of Irrational Games, developer Cloud Chamber will be the mastermind behind the next BioShock, although little has been said An indication of how long the reboot process currently is.
Although we know it’s in the works, we have yet to see the sequel in action or hear more about Cloud Chamber’s direction for the series. That doesn’t mean we don’t have information about the sequel though. First, we know that writer Liz Albel has tackled the topic of Ghost of Tsushima The role of narrative leadership. It looks like the game will also follow in BioShock Infinite’s footsteps by opting for a new setting, with job listings referring to the team building a “new and wonderful world.”
The sequel isn’t the only long-awaited BioShock product currently in production. Back in 2022, Netflix revealed it had the green light The film is based on the original BioShock. Netflix later confirmed that the film will be directed by Francis Lawrence, the director of I Am Legend and Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, while Michael Green, one of the writers of Blade Runner 2049 and Logan, is handling the script.
The next project from BioShock creator Ken Levin, Judah, is also in depth of development. From the early glimpse we saw at The Game Awards in 2022, it appears to be closer to BioShock, from the dual combat to the high-concept sci-fi setting. If all goes as planned, it looks like BioShock fans will be in for a feast of twisted sci-fi over the next few years.
Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a games critic, news reporter, guide writer and feature writer.