2K Games has the disappointing news today that Irrational Games' hotly anticipated BioShock Infinite has been delayed until February 26th 2013, giving the game an extra four months to bake from its original schedule of October 2012.

In an official statement, Irrational Games head, Ken Levine, took a moment to explain the reasoning and reassure eager fans:

I won’t kid you: BioShock Infinite is a very big game, and we’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter. We had a similar experience with the original BioShock, which was delayed several months as our original ship date drew near. Why? Because the Big Daddies weren’t the Big Daddies you’ve since come to know and love. Because Andrew Ryan’s golf club didn’t have exactly the right swing. Because Rapture needed one more coat of grimy Art Deco.

The same principle now applies to BioShock Infinite.

What does this mean for you? It means a bit more waiting, but more importantly, it means an even better BioShock Infinite. The great can be made greater, and we owe it to both ourselves and to you, our fans, to take this opportunity.

While it's a downer that we'll have to wait a few extra months for this one, it is probably a much better time of year for it, away from the holiday franchise blockbusters -- one of which is still rumoured to be that other giant Take-Two property, GTA5.

There's also no telling when we'll see the game next as Levine also confirmed that they'd be holding the game back from both E3 and GameCom (sad face).

"We are also going to hold off on showing BioShock Infinite at the big events of the summer, like E3 and Gamescom," he said.

You can read the full statement over on Irrationalgames.com