Ken Levine and Irrational Games have been busy these past few years. While 2K Marin was hard at work on BioShock 2, the team that made the original game were quietly working on a game of their own: BioShock Infinite.

So as you can see it’s not your Big Daddy’s BioShock. “Skyoshock”, as Tycho from Penny Arcade dubbed it, would be more apt. Just as the previous games were inspired by works of literature, BioShock Infinite seems to have been heavily influenced by Thomas Pynchon’s 2006 novel Against the Day; a genre bending turn of the century tale of anarchy and airships. Pynchon’s decade spanning novel also doubles as a biting critique of capitalism and jingoism.

The game seems to tread on similar territory, being set on the fictional sky city of Columbia in the late 19th century. The city is meant to be the literal embodiment of American patriotism and cultural imperialism, which could obviously make for an interesting backdrop. How Levine and company tackle these prescient themes remains to be seen, but if the original BioShock is any indicator, chances are it is going to be pretty compelling.

BioShock Infinite is set for a 2012 release.