Report: StarCraft II cost over $100 million to make

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Report: StarCraft II cost over $100 million to make

Posted Jul 16th 2010 4:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Biz, RTS, Starcraft II

We know that Blizzard took several years to develop StarCraft II, but just how much did the PC only sci-fi RTS sequel actually cost to make? According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal (paid registration required) the game's budget was over $100 million.

The report doesn't cite a source for its budget number but even if that figure true the game is expected to turn a profit for Blizzard and its parent company Activision Blizzard. Analysts expect sales of the game to total several million this year worldwide and at $60 per copy that means the game will have to sell "just" 1.7 million copies to go over the $100 million mark.

The article also has a quote from Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime who hopes that players of its MMO blockbuster World of Warcraft will also pick up StarCraft II. He states, "We've brought in a lot of new players in the beta testing who've been playing 'World of Warcraft' but have never tried Starcraft."

Gallery: StarCraft 2 Screenshots

Tags: Activision, Activision-Blizzard, Blizzard, Blizzard-Entertainment, starcraft-2, starcraft-2-100-million, starcraft-ii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

"Analysts expect sales of the game to total several million this year worldwide and at $60 per copy that means the game will have to sell "just" 1.7 million copies to go over the $100 million mark."

Except that possibly outside of the direct digital downloads, Blizzard/Activision won't see anywhere near the entire $60 of a sale. Posted at 5:34PM on Jul 16th 2010 by Adam

Yeah, the profit they make off game sales in brick and mortar shops is probably more around 30-40, don't quote me on that though.

Hell, I'm expecting a good chunk of those "several million" will be pirated copies of the game, from people who don't feel its worth the cost. Personally I feel the same way, but I'll just wait til the Battlechest edition is inevitably released.Posted at 10:22AM on Jul 17th 2010 by devilsei

Meh I pre-ordered it in June and am getting it on launch date! I'm a sucker for Starcraft's storyline and can't wait for all the awesome mods to increase my replay value not to mention multiplayer with my friends... So I'm glad to know that my 66 dollars (9.75 percent tax here in CA) is going to good use.Posted at 12:31PM on Jul 17th 2010 by Access Granted [Doktor! Mediiic! Schnell Raus RAUS!]