I'm trying to do research on existing popular MMOs. Designing Virtual Worlds by Bartle has been really helpful but it doesn't address some specifics that I'm looking for. Simple things like how long was the development cycle for WOW or 2nd Life. How much money did they have to pump in to it and so on... Appreciate any help.

Why don't you try asking them?

That information isn't publicly available, so your only option would be to contact the companies directly.

However, word on the street is that WoW was about 3-4 yrs dev cycle and ~50 million dollars to develop. They've previously listed #active accounts around 9million so you can make a rough guess at their income.

-me

Thanks, yeah seeing as how I might be viewed as a competitor(although no much) it might make sense why such information is not publicly available.

http://www.mmogchart.com/

-cb

Awesome link. Thanks.