The BioShock saga, where the game, incompatible with iOS 8.4 and later, was not only pulled from the App Store but from purchase histories entirely, has taken another twist. It looks like 2K will be fixing the game and putting it back on the App Store. According to a 2K representative who reached out to us earlier today:
2K recently provided inaccurate information to customers surrounding removal of BioShock for iOS from the App Store. BioShock is currently incompatible with iOS versions 8.4 and higher, and as such, is temporarily removed for purchase from the App Store. 2K is fixing the compatibility issue, and when resolved, will place BioShock back on the App Store for purchase. Customers who already own BioShock may continue playing the game with iOS version 8.3 or earlier. 2K regrets the initial customer service error and looks forward to delivering an updated version of BioShock for iOS in the near future.
So it looks like this is getting resolved, in a very similar way to how The World Ends With You ($17.99) went down – game stops working, publisher is slow to react to fixing it, mixed messages from customer service lead to confusion over whether the game is getting fixed, before a public outcry seemingly leads to the game getting fixed. We’ll keep an eye out for if and when BioShock comes back to the App Store, and let you all know, of course. An iOS 8.4 update was promised, but never quite made it out, so we’ll see if this one actually comes out.
But for big companies releasing premium games? All this negative publicity should serve as a lesson: maybe updating games comes at a high cost. But instead of dealing with negative outcry from consumers and the media, along with poisoning the well for high-priced premium games on mobile, maybe it’s best to just make sure these things are fixed for later iOS versions when they inevitably do break? These things happen, and people have been patient waiting for fixes, but it’s just the right thing to do to support these games, especially expensive-for-mobile ones, for a reasonable amount of time.
