Irrational Games has announced BioShock Infinite, the studio's latest take-on the first person shooter genre. This time around, the action takes place in 1912 in Columbia, a city in the sky. The title will be released sometime in 2012 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. BioShock Infinite moves the action from underwater up into the sky, in an era when the United States of America was rising as the most important technological power of the world. Columbia is an expression of America's prowess and a symbol of its ideas. The floating city is sent around the world, but the situation quickly turns bad when Columbia disappears, never to be found again. The player fills in the role of Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, a fully realized character, as opposed to the protagonist of the first BioShock. He is sent to Columbia to find Elizabeth, a young woman with tremendous power imprisoned there. The combat takes place both indoors and amongst the clouds, as well as in high-speed Sky Line battles. “We are excited to expand the world of BioShock, which is one of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and beloved franchises,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. He continued that, “We believe that Irrational Games will lend their meticulous attention to detail and unique storytelling expertise to make BioShock Infinite an incredible entertainment experience that will immerse new and diehard fans of BioShock alike.” Ken Levine, the legendary game designer behind BioShock and System Shock 2 also said that, “when it came to begin work on BioShock Infinite we only had one rule: No sacred cows. This game is both true to what people love about the series and unafraid to question every assumption. “In order to explore the floating city of Columbia, we needed an entirely new engine. To bring Elizabeth to life, we had to build brand-new animation and AI systems. To create wide-ranging indoor and outdoor firefights at 30,000 feet, we had to rethink, rebuild and expand the BioShock arsenal. “The only thing gamers can be certain of is this: the rules of the BioShock universe are about to change.”