GOW, he continued, "wasn't cheap but didn't cost the crazy figures you hear other companies quoting of $20, $30 million". Rein made similar comments in an interview with GI.biz last year, where he accused "big companies like EA" of "going around trying to scare people".  When asked by an audience member how much GOW had cost to produce, Rein replied, "So far, around $10 million, maybe a little less. However, as Rein clarified, Epic has not had to budget for the cost of a game engine - since GOW runs on the proprietary Unreal Engine 3. He said the company was also able to save money by outsourcing to new subsidiary Epic Games China.

According to Rein, Unreal Engine 3 has "now reached the first level of performance". It will power Epic's first PS3 title, Unreal Tournament 2007, which he described as "an even more intense game" than Gears of War.