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Big game news: ‘StarCraft II’ is coming!
Fans of gaming behemoth Blizzard Entertainment (“World of Warcraft,” “Diablo”) are in a frenzy today after a late-night announcement in Korea that the next big game will be (drum roll, please) … “StarCraft II,” a sequel to the legendary (and surprisingly sequel-bereft) real-time strategy game “StarCraft,” released in 1998.
Remarkably, that game was so well-designed, that it’s still popular today, especially in Korea where it’s a favorite at Internet cafes.
Blizzard has already put live a site for “StarCraft II” and the Blizzard home page bears the game’s logo and the words, “Hell, it’s about time.”
While a new “StarCraft” game in any form is welcome news for gamers, some might be disappointed that the announcement was not for a massively multiplayer online version of “StarCraft,” along the lines of a “World of Warcraft” game. Something like that would be a huge cash cow for Blizzard, especially given the rabid fanbase and sci-fi storyline.
In typical Blizzard fashion, no release date has announced. The company hasn’t released a new game since 2004 (“The Burning Crusade” expansion pack for “World of Warcraft” was released earlier this year) and is famous for saying their games will be done when they’re done. According to the site FAQ, the game will be available for Windows Vista and XP, as well as Mac. No plans have been announced for console versions of “StarCraft II.”
Blizzard had at one time been working on a game called “StarCraft: Ghost” for consoles, but it was eventually put on indefinite hold.
My guess is that Blizzard is working on an MMO in the “StarCraft” universe to be released some time after this one. They took that strategy with “Warcraft III,” which was developed at the same time that “World of Warcraft” was being built.
Screenshot from Starcraft2.com.
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