BioShock 2 To Get 'Narrative-Driven' Single-Player Add-On DLC

Just after the release of BioShock 2's Protector Trials single-player game pack, it's been revealed that the game will get an intriguing new piece of DLC entitled Minerva's Den. The strategy to support major games with post-release downloadable content has fast become industry-standard, enhancing product lifecycles and often providing significant revenue opportunities. With Grand Theft Auto IV, publisher Take-Two helped pioneer the model whereby these add-ons go beyond map packs and simple content items into full-scale single-player episodes, and now its 2K Games label is extending that strategy into BioShock 2. It's positioning 2K Marin's new Minerva's Den as particularly "narrative-driven," promising new characters and story elements for the game's underwater city of Rapture in a "self contained" experience that casts the player as a brand new character in the game's world. They're tasked with joining key scientist figure Brigid Tenenbaum in opposition to a dictator in Rapture Central Computing, a new district in the gameworld. It also promises new weaponry, a new Plasmid, more dangerous Splicers (Rapture's lethal denizens) and a new form of the series' iconic Big Daddy. "Minerva's Den is a substantial addition that will give players more of what they're looking for: more story, more narrative, more gameplay and more of Rapture," says 2K president Christoph Hartmann,. "The core team has created an exciting product that further enhances the mystery and allure of the world of Rapture. Minerva's Den will be a fitting conclusion to the BioShock 2 saga." BioShock 2 launched in February 2010 to positive critical reception, although sales are believed to have been modest -- company CEO Ben Feder has described it as "ultimately successful, but not hugely successful." Still, five installments of add-on content for the game have launched to date, and Minerva's Den looks like it's aimed to be the most significant yet. The company did not confirm a release date.