Irrational's New Game Is BioShock Infinite

At a 2K press event in New York City, Irrational Games revealed its long-in-development followup to 2007's BioShock: BioShock Infinite. Helmed by series creator Ken Levine, BioShock Infinite looks to take the basic concepts of the franchise and transfer them into a new setting, outside the world of Rapture. 
 
 
 
 
In fact, according to the trailer and synopsis of the game on the main site, BioShock Infinite couldn't be farther from the underwater city of Rapture. BioShock Infinite takes place in 1912, on top the floating city of Columbia, a steampunk-looking sky city complete with blimps and floating balloons. Players will take the role of Booker DeWitt, a disgraced Pinkerton agent (a turn-of-the-century detective and protection agency) sent up to Columbia to rescue a girl named Elizabeth from the floating city.
 

 
DeWitt will team up with Elizabeth over the course of the game, working together and augmenting each other's abilities in order to escape the city before it crashes into the ground (there's that Icarus connection from the teaser site). DeWitt will have to take down foes in the city of Columbia and in the clouds in "Sky-Line battles" in order to get Elizabeth out safely.
 
BioShock Infinte doesn't look to be a complete departure from the BioShock fiction, as the trailer features a monster that looks suspiciously like a Big Daddy battling DeWitt and preventing him from rescuing Elizabeth. 
 
Here's what Ken Levine himself has to say about Infinite, via the game's announcement press releease:

"But when it came to begin work on BioShock Infinite," said Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games, "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."

Levine continued, "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."  

 
2K is planning the game as a 2012 release on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Irrational has also stated that the full presentation from the unveiling will be made available in the near future, so look for a stream of new information on BioShock Infinite soon.