MMORPG inital cost?

Curlay · November 2003

I was wondering if anyone here might know how to figure out how much an MMORPG costs to startup? I don't want to set up my own, but a professor of mine wants to do some research on costs, and I am tasked with finding the initial cost. If anyone knows anything about MMORPG costs, or where I can find out about them, from a behind-the-scenes angle, please let me know.

You can email me at Curlay1@hotmail.com

Thank you very much for reading.

~Curlay

Lebowski · November 2003

Contact any computer games shop and ask them about their prices of MMORPG games

When life tastes like lemmon, take tequila and salt.

ThePatient · November 2003

Lebowski, he means to make his own mmorpg, not just to buy one.

And by the way lebowski, that movie owns.

Lebowski · November 2003

Ooopse, my mistake. Sorry.
I thought that the answer was too obvious

When life tastes like lemmon, take tequila and salt.

cyphor · November 2003

Easiest way to find out is probely to get in-touch with some of the development companies behind mmorpgs and ask them

It shouldn't be too much of a secret as they will have to publish their finances each year anyway for their shareholders etc.

Edit: oh and prob best to get in touch with a variety of companies, as the costs will vary, ie a small project like neocron or face of mankind will be alot cheaper than swg or eq.

You could also try the companies website (not the games one, the one they put out for investors etc.)

Clever_Glove · November 2003

This is all apx information. (some of it stolen for B.net)

- 10 Professional developers to develop the code for the software. Cost - $2,000,000.00 per year times 3-5. Maybe more

- 2 Team managers to manage the deployment of the teams and to build the project timeline. Cost - (300,000.00 per year)

- One database consultant to design the database that the servers will be using for character integrity. Cost - (150,000.00 six month contract)

- Two database administrators to maintain the system. Cost - (300,000.00 per year)

Then you have website development, service, PR, and corporate structure. I will price that at 8,000,000.00 per year just for the personnel.

Purchase three servers for 600,000.00 each, lets get software licenses for all the computers that are running software, pay for graphic engineers, get network engineers, networking hardware, PCs for all the employees, internet for them, and internet for the servers that are running 3.1GBPS (OC-48 about 200K a month) and lets put that at a monthly cost of 6,000,000.00 per year.

A very rough estimate of 18-22 million a year to run the company.

Also remember that employees cost employees in more ways just pay. So if you say I'm a DBA and I'm not making 150K a year, well.. your insurance, vacation, disability...ect all cost employers money. (and ultimately consumers)

150K users at 12 bucks a month = 21.6M each year. Granted some of the over head can be paid off after a few years. Granted this is rough, you can see that starting up a MMO is not cheap, normally if you can enough of it completed someone will give you a loan so you can buy the equipment needed to go live. Hopefully you can be in black within 3 years of start-up.

-=-=-=-=-
"EQ was once a great game. I wont deny it, but so was Astroids. And just like Pong, EQ is obsolete by newer game standards."

A: 93% E: 55% S:3% K: 50%

Games and players have a type. What type are you? click here

Curlay · December 2003

Clever_Glove,

I tried to write you an email but to no avail, I don't know if you check your hotmail or not. Basically I'm wondering where you soruced your numbers? Those are GREAT and exactly what I'm looking for now I'm just looking for a place to source them because while quoting MMORPG.com in my opinion is great it might not be good enough for my Professor.

What's b.net? ANY additional help would be great. Thanks!

PS you can email me at Curlay1@hotmail.com, thanks again!

Silent85 · December 2003

your proffessor is probably playing eq as we speak and knows about this site

ParaTrooper · December 2003

damn thats alot of money...... n one day i was planning on getting into the industry...oh well...shattered dreams

Silent85 · December 2003

it shouldn't be shattered dreams it all depends with the age of uncertainty in mmo's the developers may be more liberal and like soe with huge funds.

Dont forget top quality low end mmo's such as atitd are great and only two developers made it

ParaTrooper · December 2003

Nah my dreams were shattered before i even had them lol, i couldn't possibly learn to program stuff, the vcr is enuff of a challenge. Nah i just wanted to get one of those jobs where u get paid to think of ideas n stuff.... an ideas man. I think should get a forum just for peoples ideas for mmorpg's... would be interesting no doubt.

Silent85 · December 2003

the whole concept of the database management etc in mmo's is mind boggling

ParaTrooper · December 2003

so mind boggling infact i've no idea what u mean, database managment oh well i just play the games

I hope i'm rich one day,really really rich, i'll put so much money into mmorpg's it aint funny.

Silent85 · December 2003

the place where they store all the characters details clothes location etc

ParaTrooper · December 2003

ooooh. Yer with the ammount of users in some games it would be mind boggling.

Back to mmorpg costs though, the original post i don't think u could just go down to the bank n go hey can i loan $30 mill to make a mmorpg i promise i wont stuff it up!. Unless your super rich i guess the solution is to work for a company that produces mmorpg's already n one day step from that to forming your own company one day...maybe.

thaner · December 2003

at a monthly cost of 6,000,000.00 per year.

??? errr, this cost is montly or yearly? u have to choose u know...

ParaTrooper · December 2003

There has to be some considerable profit in it somewhere, otherwise why would they make them?
It's all about how well you spend the money rather than how much (quality / quantity)

Curlay · December 2003

Just for clarification, I've got no interest in starting up my MMORPG, what interests me is the research and possible theories that could be pulled out of, among other things, the initial cost.

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