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You can update your Bioshock games to HD for free

With the upcoming release of Bioshock: The Collection Remastered, gamers around the world will have a chance to play through the Bioshock trilogy with much prettier textures and models than they originally released with. That includes those who already own the games, as 2K is releasing it as a free update to all Bioshock owners.

Although the Bioshock games were great looking games when first released, they do look a little dated in places, but thanks to the remastering, edges have been cleaned up, the lighting has been massively improved and there's even more detail added to some scenes, including a graininess to the underwater sequences.

It's not just Rapture that looks prettier of course, console gamers will be able to experience the full beauty of the PC rendition of Columbia as well. The ‘remaster' of that won't really be much better looking for PC players, but perhaps your graphics card is a bit heftier since you last played. [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YasVqns7AVg']

When the remastered collection is released on the 15th September, the updated version will simply show up in your Steam folder. Better yet, as Kotaku explains, it will appear alongside the originals, so you can play either version depending on your preference.

The only difficulty there is if you own the games on other platforms, like in physical disc form or through Games for Windows Life. You can still get the free update, but you'll need to either provide 2K with some kind of proof of purchase or use your GFWL key to activate the games on Steam – at which point you should receive the updates without charge.

The system requirements obviously go up with this update, though they aren't too hefty. 2K recommends that you have at least a 3GHz quad-core CPU and a Radon HD 7970, or GTX 770 or better.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As 2K points out in its detail page, the original Bioshock is nine years old. That seems absolutely crazy. It really doesn't seem that long ago I was being wowed by that first intro sequence beneath the waves. 

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23 comments

  1. The models have absolutely ZERO difference. Same pivot points and motions and all. All they did was update the texture files after screwing Microsoft and Xbox users alike. BioShock threatened lawsuit if they didn’t wind up on the front page of the backwards compatibility coming soon list, and then they scrapped that project to get paid again since their parent company is closing office after office going out of business.

    It’s like the people who review games have no clue what they are talking about anymore.

  2. How about removing the stick from your bunghole and appreciate that you’re getting these updates for free?

  3. No they should give people who own the Bioshock games digitally on either 360 (in my case) and on PS3 and give it to them for FREE!!! I’m not paying 60$ for a few little upgrades here and there. Especially when the first was the best, 2nd was mediocre and the 3rd was only decent in places. Just a little prettier. What a waste

  4. Talk about self entitled, how about no

  5. I think this Gen have ripped off enough people with Last Gen remakes, reduxs, remasters etc. So yes people deserve it…I mean look at the percentage of games this gen, that are LAST gen titles. That speaks volumes about how BAD the games are in the current generation. And I’ve been gaming since Atari 2600..haha But to each their own. Whatever.

  6. They aren’t free. They are $60 for 90% of people.

  7. Signed up just to school you

    Jesus Christ you are such a moron I have to write a damn essay to show you how stupid what you wrote is

    If you bought those games digitally you bought them cheap and well after they came out which means people like myself who payed the full price new when they came out like have zero sympathy for you. The first 2 were amazing and the only problem with the third was that it wasn’t more of Rapture.

    You complain about buying games over and over but how many times do people buy the same album when it comes out on a new format?
    Dark Side of the Moon – Vinyl record, 8 track cassette, CD, Mp3, itunes.
    And no one complains about that. At least Bioshock was good enough and liked enough it got a remake, and with a graphically appealing game like that, better looks are always worth it.

    Also – understand that this is the gaming INDUSTRY (caps for emphasis) as in people are trying to MAKE MONEY. They aren’t going to spend a shit load of cash paying their guys to remaster 3 of their games and then give em away for free or dirt cheap. Do you think if they remake Lord of the Rings with better CGI that they’ll give us all new DVD’s or tickets to see the updated version for free? Obviously not. Be glad it’s not like in Canada where its $90 for a new game even before a 13% tax.

    And those “Few little upgrades here and there” amount to people going over literally every visual element in the game, and making them all look better. There are probably couple thousand or more things they remastered in the first couple of rooms in the game alone

    Yes this generation has been bad for redux, remakes, remasters, and so forth.
    But That said the borderlands remake was amazing and worth buying it all over again.
    AND A lot of people who didn’t buy the games the first time also have the chance to get the games, (in bioshock’s case 3 games) with the DLC all in one, at a pretty good price compared to buying all 3 new (you’re essentially getting 2 games free)
    So remember that as a company, they are attempting to serve the needs of everyone, rather than just you and other cheap self entitled cunts who think because they bought it half price with little to no support for the devs from that, they should always get it for free.

    Oh and god forbid the developers charge the price of one new game for 3 that were all sold at new/full price when they were new. /sarcasm
    If you don’t like it, wait 3 years and buy it digitally again at half price, when we’ve all moved on and it doesn’t look as good as other games graphics improve beyond it.

    If you were gaming since the Atari 2600 then you’d understand better than most that the industry moves forward, and then has to make money to pay for those steps. My dad started on the 2600, he said when he was making computers around that time a 1MB harddrive cost over a grand. Now a 1MB harddrive doesn’t even exist. Are you going to demand a free Terabyte drive simply because you bought a harddrive when they sucked and cost more? No probably not. You’re going to understand that life moves forward, sometimes you pay for a better version of something you already have.

    And If it was to each their own, you’d just deal with it without complaining.

  8. Really, it’s more like $20 each becuase you are getting all 3 games plus all the DLC. That’s basically free nowadays with new games costing up to 90$ depending on where you are. BEFORE DLC or season passes.

  9. I’d love for you to explain where you’ve seen that you can get only one of them updated for $20? lol They pay yall to come make excuses for lying and screwing people over?

  10. http://i.imgur.com/eNtlu1r.jpg

    dat burn.

  11. You console peasants will never learn, first Skrim now this… know your place.

  12. not to mention they are giving people who own it digitally or have some form of proof of purchase the upgrade for free. Am I going to run out and pay $60 for it nah but then again I have the originals and will get the upgrades. I have them in both physical format on disc and got them online with dlc during the steam sell

  13. a ton of people will have these digitally already and get a free upgrade im sure half have them via steam

  14. $60 for all 3 games is a great price since it’s remastered and has all the DLC. you figure the first 2 games were $40 with all dlc in the rapture ultimate pack and then the 3rd game was I think $40 also goty

  15. Like 10% of sales MIGHT be steam. It was ported to steam well after the first and second ones were out. Most sales will be for Xbox 360 and PS3.

  16. I never said you can get them separately. But on the whole, it’s 3 games for 60$. 60 divided by 3 is 20. If you don’t like #2 then look at it as 30$ each for 2 games. Or look at it as 60$, I don’t care. I’m just saying 60$ for a 3 game bundle (3 Bioshock games) is still a pretty great deal, regardless of whether it’s a remaster or not. That’s getting close to Orange Box levels of value if you’ve never played Bioshock before.

  17. No doubt… some of them are even defending having to buy the game again.
    Peasants like to waste money. People with money know where to put thier money.

    On PC you just get upgraded.

    Maybe the consoles have to pay because they probably have to optimize it like crazy to work on console.

  18. Yeah, most of them forget if you drop the right amount on a rig it’ll last you for a generation and a half for the same price as 2 gens. Then you upgrade for the next 1.5 generations.

  19. I’ve never paid a monthly fee for online gaming either. 50 dollars a month?

    7 months buy a new midrange video card.

  20. You know who else just gets upgraded. Cybermen… Just saying.

  21. I read a while back it was free IF you already owned all 3 through Steam?

  22. Phillip Alan Campbell

    Are you thick? I for one am super pumped about a remaster. Not because of the updated graphics, but because I really just missed out on the first two last generation. I CAN NOT BE BOTHERED to go through the bad UI on 360/PS3 just to play them with subpar controllers. I’ll pay for the updated to have them all in the same place. Not to mention that one of my best friends completely missed out on them last generation and now I can gift him a copy of it so he can enjoy them. STFU about remasters, it’s not that big of a resource on a company to do it, they usually do them as a back burner type of thing.

    Not to mention that there are so many rewarding titles that are out. Depends on what you were expecting but The Order was actually really good and I’d be pumped for a sequel. Sunset Overdrive was fantastic. Uncharted 4. Halo 5 (depending on that one..)

    Fact of the matter is y’all need to stop complaining about things like this. Take it, or if you’re stubborn and like to complain leave it reluctantly and with much more hassle that it deserves.

  23. So have I, Im 34 so you can throw that bs excuse out the window. It’s not a rip off for me as a PC player I already own them, take it as a life lesson not to be a console pleb.