2K Games has today announced that the next instalment in the highly successful BioShock series will be releasing on October 16th 2012 in the US and October 19th in the UK.

BioShock Infinite will take you away from the walls of Rapture and into the sky as you explore the sky-city Columbia. Set in an 1912 America that may have been, you’ll take control of Booker DeWitt a former Pinkerton agent and be accompanied by a new AI character called Elizabeth and together players will have to escape the sky-city armed with brand new weapons and abilities.

“After BioShock, we had a vision for a follow up that dwarfed the original in scope and ambition,” said Ken Levine creative director of Irrational Games. “BioShock Infinite has been our sole focus for the last four years, and we can’t wait for fans to get their hands on it.

Sounds very exciting and with the release of Assassin’s Creed 3 just a few weeks after, October is promising to be a wallet draining month of quality.

Will you be picking this up? Are you happy to see the series take to the sky? Let us know below.

*UPDATED*

Sony has also confirmed via it’s PS  Blog that PS3 players will also receive a free copy of the original BioShock included on their Blu-Ray Disk.  As well as free game Sony also told us that the PS3 version will be enhanced with the PS Move compatibility.