Blizzard rakes in money hand over fist with World of Warcraft. Every other MMO has to struggle against the entrenched popularity of the title, especially if they’re also a fantasy-based title. Their success is a double edged sword though: more players means more requirements in terms of bandwidth, servers and support.

The company’s COO Paul Sams revealed that the combined cost of maintenance is $200 million. That includes development of new content, infrastructure maintenance and the customer service department, which apparently is the most costly portion. The customer service arm of the company is open 24 hours a day and services the entirety of the world, so it’s no shock that it’s a big money drainer.

Of course Sams said that the cost is well worth it. The first expansion pack, Burning Crusade, sold 2.4 million copies in a mere 24 hours and it’s entirely possible Wrath of the Lich King will beat that number.