According to the Wall street Journal Starcraft II, Blizzard’s much anticipated sequel to the seminal RTS is on its way to being one of the most expensive games ever made.

The original, probably the most successful game in its genre, has sold over 11 million units since its release 12 years ago. The 3-part sequel is going to have to sell considerably better to recoup its development costs.

The paper says that Activision Blizzard has spent over $100 million developing the game which sees its first chapter, Wings of Liberty, being released on 27 July. This matches GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption, both believed to have cost that figure to make. The report says that Starcraft’s 9 figure price-tag excludes any marketing costs at all though – making it the most expensive game ever.

Bobby Kotick isn’t worried though. He believes the franchise is on of the company’s 7 “pillars of opportunity.” Each pillar, says Kotick can potentially earn the company between $500 million and $1 billion in profit. The other pillars? Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Diablo, a new Blizzard MMO, and Bungie’s new game.

Do you think ActiBlizz will make their money back? Considering the millions of nearly identical Koreans who’ll be buying just about every Starcraft related anything, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet.

Source : WSJ