Bioshock 2 delayed

Publisher Take-Two has announced that Bioshock 2 will now ship in the 2010 financial year.

The firm has also revised its expected revenues down, and now hopes to generate between $350 million to $400 million for the fourth quarter, and between $0.96 to 1 billion for the full business year. The publisher has cited a challenging retail environment for the reduced revenues.

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder commented: The decision to shift a release date is never an easy one, especially with a product as highly anticipated as BioShock 2.

"We felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that this title will deliver what its fans expect and deserve. As a result, we will now be launching sequels to several of our strongest franchises – including BioShock 2, Mafia II, Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption – during the next fiscal year.

These titles will anchor our lineup for fiscal 2010, and along with other products planned for next year, provide a platform for enhanced financial performance in what we hope will be an improved retail environment.”

2010 is set to be a big year for Take Two, with Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3 and Mafia II all scheduled for the financial period, as well as several unannounced products.

We recognise that our revised outlook for the balance of fiscal year 2009, due to both internal and external factors, is a disappointment,” said Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick.

That said, we concluded that moving the release of BioShock 2 into fiscal year 2010 was the right decision for the product. We believe the result will be a more compelling consumer experience and a better performing product in the marketplace.

At the same time, near term retail conditions have proven to be more challenging for our business than the assumptions built into our prior outlook. We remain confident in the long term potential for Take-Two’s business, and our ability to capitalise on that potential through our exceptional creative talent and solid balance sheet."