'BioShock Infinite' Delayed, Falls Off 2012 Video Game Calendar

We know, gamers. You're already feeling that Big Daddy-sized hole in your calendar.

Developers behind "BioShock: Infinite" confirmed today that the first-person shooter anthology's third chapter has been delayed beyond the 2012 release calendar, Joystiq reports. In fact, it won't be hitting shelves until Feb. 26, 2013.

One big name behind the game implied that the decision wasn't made because his team didn't have a good game on their hands. They just found an opportunity to craft a great one, instead. "Infinite" will continue the saga begun 2007's dystopian horror "BioShock", a story of survival set in an alternate 1960's mutant-populated undersea city of Rapture. Noted for its cribbing of the individualist themes and philosophy of Ayn Rand and her Objectivist doctrine, it was praised as much for its thoughtful commentary as its distinctive setting.

Released in 2010, set in 1968 and boasting play as one of the first game's drill-wielding Big Daddy juggernauts, 2010's "BioShock 2" was so well-received, it listed in the book 1,001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.

"When we announced the [October 2012] release date of 'BioShock Infinite' in March, we felt pretty good about the timing. Since then, we've uncovered opportunities to make 'Infinite' into something even more extraordinary," said Irrational Games Creative Director Ken Levine. "Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need to deliver the best 'Infinite' possible, we've decided to move the game's release to February."

Savor these words. They'll apparently be the last said about 'Infinite' for some time.

Separately, Levine announced that the game is, to use Joystiq's words, "going dark" until its release. That means it won't be exhibited in early June at the Los Angeles E3 2012, the annual showcase that typically lets developers set the agenda for the next 12 months in gaming.

"That way, the next time you see our game, it will be essentially the product we intend to put in the box. Preparing for these events takes time away from development, time we're going to use instead to get the best version of 'Infinite' into your hands in February," Levine said.

"BioShock Infinite" will reportedly take place amid the blimp-suspended, 1900-launched flying city of "Columbia." The main character will be a disgraced Pinkerton National Detective Agency agent named Booker DeWitt that's been charged in 1912 with infiltrating the city amid a civil war waged by the city's isolationists. His goal will be to rescue a young woman named Elizabeth, and eventually to help her learn the truth about her strange powers.