Update [Tue 13th Jun, 2023 11:05 BST]: A Microsoft spokesperson has responded to the comparisons that are being made between InXile's Clockwork Revolution and BioShock Infinite, highlighting the customization options as one of the features that will set the game apart from Irrational's 2013 title.
Speaking to IGN, a spokesperson for the company said: “Any similarities are unintentional. Players will be able to fully customize their own main character in the game.”
This is an element of the game that the InXile studio head Brian Fargo also stressed soon after the announcement in a series of tweets:
Interestingly, it also seems that the Xbox YouTube channel has now addressed the labelling issue spotted on the initial trailer too, changing the tag below the video from BioShock Infinite to InXile's previous game Wasteland 3.
Original Story [Mon 12th Jun, 2023 11:45 BST]: At yesterday's Xbox Showcase, InXile revealed its upcoming steampunk-inspired RPG Clockwork Revolution (which is coming to Xbox "in due time") and immediately people online started drawing comparisons to Irrational Games' 2013 first-person-shooter BioShock Infinite, due to the two games sharing a similar aesthetic
Chief among them was the trailer creator @Butmac, who actually worked on BioShock Infinite's trailers back in the day. After the announcement, they took to Twitter to make this connection and showed off a bunch of images highlighting the similarities between Clockwork Revolution and some of the work they did a little over 10 years prior.
In these images — some of which @Butmac later admitted are actually in-game screenshots rather than screengrabs from specific trailers he worked on — there are a ton of interesting comparisons to make between the two games, not just in terms of the subject but also in some cases the composition of certain shots. The similarities even prompted @Butmac to tweet "I felt like I was having a flashback" after his first time watching the trailer as part of the showcase.
Interestingly, as pointed out by NoClip's Danny O'Dwyer, it wasn't just people who noticed the similarities between the two games either, with YouTube's automatic video labeling technology confusing Clockwork Revolution for BioShock Infinite over on Xbox's main channel.
Obviously, none of the above is to suggest that InXile has ripped off BioShock, but it does highlight a possible problem the studio will face as it gets closer to its release. Namely, how it will differentiate the project from what has come before.
If you haven't already, you can watch the trailer and let us know what you think of the comparisons below: