Update: Activision Blizzard has since called bluff on the $100 million figure, with WSJ blaming the snafu on a mix-up with Blizzard’s other cash cow — World of Warcraft. Read the amendment to this story here.

Blizzard has poured over $100 million in development expenditures for its three-part RTS opus StarCraft II, placing it in the same league as one of Rockstar’s heavyweights — GTA IV, which also carried an operating budget of $100 million — not including the subsequent expansions that arrived later.

That whopping eyebrow-raising figure, which comes by way of a Wall Street Journal report, likely includes resources spent on the Battle.net 2.0 facelift, an integral component of SC2’s online experience.

Without factoring varying percentages of retailer cuts into the equation, that means StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty needs to shift at least 1.7 million copies at its MSRP of $60 in order for Activision Blizzard to break even. Easily attainable, we’d say, given the history of the franchise and Blizzard’s rock-solid track record. We’d be surprised if pre-orders haven’t already topped the 1 million mark.

Follow this author on Twitter.