“Spore” lets people play god, tinker with a digital primordial soup and birth civilizations that conquer galaxies.

It may produce a similar big bang for Electronic Arts Inc.

One of the most talked-about video games in years, from the man behind the blockbuster “Sims” franchise, “Spore” is set to launch Sunday.

The computer game’s sales will help determine whether the world’s largest video game company emerges from its restructuring efforts on solid footing. Once the undisputed giant of the industry, EA’s dominance slipped in recent years as its products became regarded as formulaic.

“Spore” is anything but. Unlike most games, it’s not a sequel, a copycat of another popular title or based on a Hollywood movie. “Spore” represents a new era for EA, one that the Redwood City, Calif., company hopes will usher in a second golden age.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimates that EA needs to sell at least 1.6 million copies of “Spore” to make back the

$50 million it cost to make it.

Six years in the making, “Spore” sprang from the quirky mind of Will Wright, a game developer who created “SimCity” and “The Sims.” That franchise has developed a passionate following and sold more than 100 million copies since its launch in 2000. Both titles defined a genre, known as “sandbox games,” in which players can create their own cities, homes and families.