Is 2K teasing a new Bioshock? UPDATE: XCOM's looking like a strong option

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UPDATE: There's some pretty compelling evidence to suggest that this might be XCOM related. Posting on a Take Two forum, user Hobbes__ discovered these images in the concept art:

The use of two images from XCOM Enemy Unknown suggest a strong link to the series, along with the use of a specific XCOM font on the game's teaser site and PDF. Both these images were originally extracted from the games files back in 2013, as you can see here and here. Another user has also pointed out that the phrase 'we are still watching' that appears on the 'hacked' version of the website resonates with something a character says in Enemy Unknown: "And remember. We will be watching".

ORIGINAL STORY: When 2K uses the words "DNA" and "splicing" in the same sentence it tends to mean something significant. New Bioshock anyone? 2K has revealed a new website for a company called ADVENT and it looks suspiciously like it might be teasing a futuristic entry into the franchise. The site is promoting an ideal living space in advanced technological cities - hello dystopia! - and promising an all new form of medical technology. Where have we heard that before?

"A complex and cutting edge system of DNA splicing has led to cures, not only for the viruses and infections that for millennia haunted us, but for mental illnesses as well. Come discover an illness free world with us," says the blurb promoting the company.

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I repeat. DNA you say? Splicing, you say? Is this a coincidence? Probably not. Plus, the site keeps flickering up with threats in red that suggest that all is not well in the paradise of "building a brighter future" together. A pamphlet for the medication on the site professes to have eradicated dozens of diseases in the quest for a "perfect world." We know how this tends to end. And it's not pretty.

Advertising "ADVENT Cities", the site suggests that there is more than one of these dystopian havens around the world and the company professes to be for everyone, stating that the "stuff of dreams" will be a reality. Gene therapy will free everyone from illness and it's not something only for the rich. A counter at the bottom of the site shows ever growing numbers of residents in ADVENT cities, even if there is the occasional flashing up of the word "missing" in red. Not suspicious at all.

Only last week in an earnings call Take-Two teased a "soon-to-be-announced Triple A title from 2K" and this would fit the bill perfectly. A man, a city? Now we need to just find a lighthouse...

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Louise Blain
Louise Blain

Louise Blain is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in gaming, technology, and entertainment. She is the presenter of BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming show and has a weekly consumer tech slot on BBC Radio Scotland. She can also be found on BBC Radio 4, BBC Five Live, Netflix UK's YouTube Channel, and on The Evolution of Horror podcast. As well as her work on GamesRadar, Louise writes for NME, T3, and TechRadar. When she’s not working, you can probably find her watching horror movies or playing an Assassin’s Creed game and getting distracted by Photo Mode.