Ken Levine: 2K almost canceled the first BioShock
BioShock might never have seen the light of day, recalls game designer Ken Levine in a conversation with EDGE magazine. According to him, publishers showed no interest in the first installment of the series.
BioShock
Levine admitted that he himself initially refused to create a new immersive sim. His experience with System Shock 2 taught him that such games don't sell very well. Eventually, the staff at Irrational Games persuaded Levine, and he agreed to develop BioShock.
Once a "cheap prototype" of BioShock was ready, the studio began reaching out to publishers. They all responded with rejections, citing the weak commercial potential of the game. Then, Irrational Games decided to stir up some buzz in the press and showed BioShock to a journalist, who praised the game. The idea worked — publishers finally took an interest in the project and began to offer partnerships.
The publishing rights for BioShock were acquired by Rockstar Games and 2K. According to Levine, they initially allocated a modest budget for the game, but later provided "a ton of money." Nevertheless, Irrational Games exceeded this amount. Due to overspending and prolonged development, 2K "almost canceled" the game, but then gave the creators of BioShock another chance.
