Hear ye, gamers! We’re finally getting a BioShock movie, and this time around Netflix is at the helm. 

The streaming platform will be partnering with 2K and Take-Two Interactive to bring a live-action version of Rapture to our screen. Before you get too excited, let me tell you the details are still scarce for now. So far, no director or cast has been attached to the project. 

“Netflix is among the best and most forward-thinking storytellers in all of entertainment today,” Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a statement. “We are thrilled that they share our vision and commitment to the BioShock franchise, which is beloved by millions of fans around the world. 2K’s Cloud Chamber studio is deep in active development on the next iteration of the series and coupled with our partnership with Netflix, we remain highly confident that BioShock will continue to captivate and engage audiences like never before.”

The BioShock franchise, ever since its inception in 2007, enjoys a cult-like reputation in the gaming community. Fans have been begging for a live-action take of the FPS for a while now. At one point, Universal was developing a BioShock movie, with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski. However, the project was canned. 

Apart from the movie, developer 2K has  announced the next iteration of a BioShock game back in December 2019, but added that the upcoming game will be in development for “the next several years.”

For those who are not familiar, the first two BioShock games are set in a reclusive underwater world of Rapture. In the first one, we play as Jack, the sole survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. While, the second game takes place in 1968, in an alternate version of history, set about 10 years after the events of the first game. 

All the games in the franchise blend sci-fi and horror elements and ask probing existential and societal questions, which shape the narrative of the game’s story. Combine this with a high-octane first-person shooter, and you have a heart-pounding gameplay experience on your hands. 

While plot details are non-existent right now, we can’t help but put on our tin-foil hats and speculate. If we were to guess, the movie adaptation will tell its own story in a different way and will take elements from both BioShock 1 and 2, as well as the sky city of Columbia from BioShock Infinite. 

Apart from this, Netflix is also working on several video game adaptations like Tomb Raider, Sonic, Assassin’s Creed, Castlevania spinoff, Arcane S2, Resident Evil, Splinter Cell, The Division, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy, Far Cry, Cuphead and Cyberpunk 2077. All though, most of them will be animated series.   

Let’s be honest. So far, live-action video game movie adaptations haven’t had a good track record at the box office. And if the early reviews of the upcoming Uncharted movie are giving us any indications, this trend will sadly continue. 

Now, the question remains, can Netflix flip the switch? We have our fingers crossed. For now, can someone forward Guillermo del Toro’s number to the OTT platform?