Bioshock: Rapture, the novel that was originally scheduled to be launched alongside last year’s sequel to 2007’s action-adventure, has finally received a definitive release date. More than a full year after the release of Bioshock 2, Bioshock: Rapture will hit store shelves on March 1st. The novel, authored by Horror/Science-fiction writer John Shirley, will supposedly tell the story of how Andrew Ryan founded the iconic underwater city of Rapture.
In March 2010, the writer announced on the 2K Games community forums that the delay was due to the decision to include characters and plot points referred to in Bioshock 2 in the novel, causing Levine to add an additional 30,000 words to the by-then finished story. The book will be available both in hard-cover and paperback version, and has a total of 448 pages.