'Bioshock Infinite' Collector's Editions Announced

Game Rant

By GR Staff

Published Oct 18, 2012

Irrational Games' Ken Levine has revealed that 'Bioshock Infinite' will have two collector's editions to accompany the standard version of the game next February.

Bioshock Infinite Ultimate Song Bird Edition

There's no hiding the fact that the development of Bioshock Infinite has had its share of significant hiccups in the past few months. A number of employees from Irrational Games have left the company, Rod Fergusson has been brought on to help with development, and the title saw a four month delay from October 2012 to February 2013. There really hasn't been much in the way of good news for fans awaiting the return of the Bioshock universe, but all that changed today with the announcement of, not one, but two different collector's editions.

Irrational Games' very own Ken Levine announced that his upcoming game, Bioshock Infinite, will be available in two varieties: The Premium Edition and the Ultimate Song Bird Edition. The only difference between the two packages, other than price, is that the Ultimate Song Bird Edition will come packaged with an exclusive 9.75" statue of Infinite's already iconic Song Bird antagonist. The statue will also come in separate packaging, so collectors can access the game and bonus digital content without disturbing the collectible.

The Premium Edition and Ultimate Song Bird Edition will also come packaged with the following:

A 3-inch baby version keychain of the sold-out Murder of Crows vigor bottle replica. It comes in its own box.
A 5 x 7-inch lithograph by Jorge Lacera.
A 25 millimeter, resin-cast Handyman miniature from the upcoming BioShock Infinite board game by Plaid Hat Games, makers of Summoner Wars. It comes in its own box.
A mini art book, full of BioShock Infinite concept art and commentary, with a hand-distressed cover.
Various digital goodies: exclusive in-game gear, a digital soundtrack, and platform specific downloadable content (Avatars for Xbox LIVE, and Themes for PC and PlayStation 3).

Fans looking to secure their Ultimate Song Bird Edition before Bioshock Infinite is released, can look forward to spending $149.99 on the limited collector's edition. The Premium Edition, on the other hand, will be available for a much more affordable $79.99 — giving dedicated fans on a budget a solid swag-filled package for a reasonable price.

A lot of thought went into the contents of both Bioshock Infinite collector's editions, and they are each bursting with unique items that fans will definitely appreciate. Very few special editions have looked as good as this one, so demand is likely to be high. Fortunately, pre-orders for both editions are available in North America right now, and they'll each be made available to reserve in Europe and Australia beginning October 22nd.

Ken Levine's reasoning for why gamers should spend their hard-earned money on the collector's editions is simply that "I like it. My mother likes it. So it must be good." He was nominated for TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People after all, so consumers should trust that him and his mother must know what they're talking about.

Bioshock Infinite will swoop onto store shelves on February 26, 2013 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.