Roy Lee once again offered an update on the project, essentially reiterating what he said last September: "We would have gotten it made a few years back, but then other movies got in the way, with one being The Long Walk and the other being The Hunger Games prequel, which comes out this December. We're just waiting for him to finish post-production, because he's going to be working on it through at least September, and then jump back into it. I know that Netflix and Take-Two are very anxious to see the movie come out because they want to have the release coincide with some of the potential new incarnations of the game." He adds that the hope is for production to begin sometime next year: "It's steadily on the path, but you know how it goes. It's... so many things could get in the way, but I know that the intent is to hopefully get in production next year." (2/22/26)

Producer Roy Lee offered another brief update on the project while promoting The Long Walk. In the interview he confirms that the story is based on the first game, saying: "...Netflix wants us to keep everything under wraps. But it's definitely going to be based on the first BioShock game..." He adds that this will be director Francis Lawrence's next project after completing the adaptation of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, saying: "Well, The Long Walk became a reality because BioShock was delayed for a little bit where we had to do some more script work. And so as the script work is being done, we shot The Long Walk, and he was already committed to doing the next Hunger Games movie. And so it's just waiting for him whenever the Hunger Games is completed, and the script is just being worked on right now." (9/10/25)

Producer Roy Lee offered an update on the project, which is still in development at Netflix. According to Lee they're working with a much smaller budget now, saying: "The new regime [at Netflix] has lowered the budgets. So we’re doing a much smaller version… It’s going to be a more personal point of view, as opposed to a grander, more epic project." As some may be aware, Dan Lin took over as film chief at Netflix recently, canceling quite a few projects in development and ultimately shifting the streamer away from big budgeted projects and focusing on more modestly budgeted efforts. (7/25/24)

Writer Michael Green gave a brief update on the project, which is essentially still being written, especially since they had to pause things due to the recent writers strike. Here's what he had to say: "You have to measure your words, or you'll start to see a laser pointer at my forehead from the Netflix legal. Netflix has been amazing about it. They were excited about it before the strike, they're excited about it now, post-strike. Yes, I got called, the, 'How's it coming along?' the minute the strike was over, 'You about ready…?' Been meeting regularly with Francis Lawrence and his team to refine a draft to go back in. We're all optimistic. We all love it. It's a great big sprawling nightmare world we wanna see real. So, here's hoping. I would love to have an update for you soon." (10/19/23)

Francis Lawrence had a recent interview, where he offered an update on the project, saying: "Well, Michael Green, who wrote Blade Runner 2049, among other things, and who's been a friend of mine for years, he's writing it, and he's in the middle of writing it right now. We already have our take, outline, and all that kind of stuff, so that's all done. He's now just actually writing. That's why I said it's a real possibility of [it] being what's next." He adds that so far Netflix is giving him the freedom needed to bring the adaptation to life, saying: "There's always discussions about rating and tone. I don't want to get into it too much now because it's pretty early on in the process, but I certainly have not felt stifled in any way, or sent in any directions with Netflix. I mean, basically me and Cameron [MacConomy] who works with me, and Michael are getting to do what we want to do, which is great. A lot of it is staying really true to the game itself, and we're talking to Take-Two [Interactive] and Ken Levine." You can read the rest of the interview here. (11/14/22)

Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) is set to direct, with Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049, Murder on the Orient Express, Jungle Cruise) adapting the screenplay. The plan is once Francis finishes filming the Hunger Games prequel he'll jump right into pre-production with this film. (8/25/22)

This project is back in development with Vertigo Entertainment and Take-Two Interactive producing. At the moment no writer or director is attached, but it's expected to eventually premiere on Netflix. (2/15/22)

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo revealed recently that he's no longer directing, as he's now working on other projects. Apparently the studio is still trying to negotiate a way to get a reasonable budget and rating together that works for everyone. Until that's figured out, the film's production is on hold. (3/23/12)

Bioshock creator Ken Levine gave his thoughts towards the project in it's current state, saying: "We got very close to having it get made – we had a deal in place and a director. But for us there's no burning [desire] to have a movie made just to get it made. For us and for Take-Two, it's really got to be something that will a) give the fans something that they want, and b) for those who don't know BioShock, really introduce them to something that is consistent with the game, and is it going to be a good representation of the game." (11/15/11)

In 2010 the project was still being developed with Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto, 28 Weeks Later) attached and Gore Verbinski now serving as producer. However, the project continued to run into problems that ultimately halted the progress: a big budget and a hard-R rating. Gore Verbinski reportedly wanted to keep the film edgy and stay true to the fans, and expressed interest in keeping it an R (possibly hard R) rating, and not dumbing it down to PG-13 to appeal to a wider audience. Because of this, Gore tried to work with director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to bring the budget down a little to compensate.

This project was originally announced back in 2008 with director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl/Dead Man's Chest/At World's End, The Lone Ranger) at the helm and John Logan (Gladiator, The Avaiator) scripting. A 2010 theatrical release was aimed, but things ultimately fell through due to budget concerns. Specifically, the estimated budget was ranging over $160-million, causing Universal to halt development. A large factor in why the budget was growing too large was due to Gore Verbinski wanting to do as much as possible "in-camera" using real sets, etc.. and relying less on CGI.

Based on the hit game with the same name.