BioShock Vita, which was first announced at E3 2011, is still not in development. Ken Levine has confirmed to IGN that the situation he reported back in December last year still persists: the decision to start work on the game is entirely in the hands of various business people, and not his to make. When questioned, he said:
"That's, sort of, out of my hands right now. That's with the business guys. I've got my fingers crossed that that's going to happen because it's something I want to do but until somebody starts signing the checks, there's nothing I can do."
According to Levine, the team can only start work when Sony and Take-Two agree that it's worth the time and money:
"It has to work for [Take-Two] financially, it has to work for Sony financially."
It sounds like neither Take-Two nor Sony consider releasing a BioShock game on the Vita to be a safe bet, or they would have already signed the necessary paperwork. Maybe Sony is focused on the PlayStation 4, maybe Take-Two is pouring its money into building hype for GTA V. Maybe neither party consider it to be financially sensible right now to create a game solely for the flagging Vita.
Given where things stand with the project even now, why did Sony ask Levine to go up on stage at E3 one and a half years ago to announce this game was on its way? Was it just trying to drum up enthusiasm for the Vita at that early stage?
Do you think this game will ever get made?