Ken Levine denies BioShock Infinite’s $200 million development cost

Reports that Irrational Games' BioShock Infinite, due out next week, cost upward of $200 million to develop and market are false, according to company co-founder Ken Levine.

"200 million for Infinite? Did someone send some checks to the wrong address? #unnamedanalyst," Levine responded to an article in The New York Times. In the article, an analyst suggested the latest entry into the BioShock series cost around $100 million to develop and another $100 million to market.

I know BioShock Infinite has been delayed repeatedly and feels like it's been in development forever, but $200 million is a pretty large amount — even for large budget franchises like Halo and Call of Duty. But Infinite isn't the only game to be accused of such a spending spree. In January of last year, it was speculated that BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic cost between $200 and $500 million to develop; although, EA never denied nor confirmed those rumors.

BioShock Infinite is due out on March 26 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Stay tuned for our review coming next week.

[Develop]