EA’s Star Wars MMO Cost To Put Death Star Budget To Shame

It’s a good thing us gamers bought a ton of Mass Effect 2. Because EA’s Star Wars The Old Republic is going to cost the company a ton of cash to make.

The MMO is slated for Spring 2011, and by the time that date rolls around, EA may have spent close to $100 million. To put this in perspective, most single-player games are around $30 million. So this makes TOR one of EA’s largest projects ever.

According to EA’s chief banker Eric Brown, TOR’s development costs are similar, or even greater than, to Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. That cost Blizzard $100 million to develop in 2004.

We shouldn’t be surprised by the price tag to properly develop a Star Wars MMO. The question is if people will stick with the game past the initial months to warrant EA’s investment. Bioware is known for its excellent single-player experiences so it should be very interesting to see what the Canadian developer can do with its second kick at the Star Wars can.

[via Game Focus]