StarCraft II Has a Release Date At Last: July 27th

[John Funk]

StarCraft II Has a Release Date At Last: July 27th

The long wait is almost over: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will be warping onto store shelves at the very end of July.


Since its formal announcement at the Seoul Worldwide Invitational tournament in 2007, StarCraft II - the sequel to the beloved 1998 RTS - has been one of the most highly-anticipated games of all time. We waited with bated breath for the beta, which started earlier this year, we drooled over the Collector's Edition [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99804-StarCraft-II-Collectors-Edition-Revealed], and we crossed our fingers that Blizzard would make its self-imposed end-of-June release window.

Well, it hasn't ... but only barely: StarCraft II now has an official release date, and it's July 27th. The official press release is below, but I think I speak for all of us when I echo the words of Tychus Findlay, seen here to the right:

"Hell. It's about time."

[blockquote]Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that its highly anticipated real-time strategy game, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, will arrive in stores throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau starting on July 27, 2010. Players will also be able to purchase StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty directly from Blizzard Entertainment shortly after the retail launch.

"We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe for many years, and we're excited that the time for that is almost here," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Thanks to our beta testers, we're making great progress on the final stages of development, and we'll be ready to welcome players all over the world to StarCraft II and the new Battle.net in just a few months."

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment's 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. Sporting a vibrant 3D-graphics engine, StarCraft II will once again center on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying legions of veteran, upgraded, and new unit types. Unparalleled online play for StarCraft II will be available through a new version of Battle.net, Blizzard Entertainment's world-renowned gaming service. Battle.net has been redesigned from the ground up to be the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard gamers, with several enhancements and new features, such as voice communication, cloud file storage, leagues and ladders, achievements, stat-tracking, and more.

The solo campaign for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War. The story line chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players will be able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign. Several challenge-mode mini-games will also be included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies.[/blockquote]

The beta has done nothing but impress me since it started in February. It's so good, guys. It's so good. BRB, taking time off of work.

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[Eric the Orange]

7 days after my birthday, I'll make it a late present.

 

[dududf]

No LAN.

Not interested.

I hope it sells well, as it's probably been in development for a long long time, and as such was probably a money drain for a while. 10$ says they make all of their money back in a week.

 

[Jared]

Thats awesome! Glad to see it will be released soon-ish! Only 3 months to wait.

Gonna be great~ Me and a friend want to take a go at it so badly lol

 

[Plinglebob]

I seem to be one of the few people who never really enjoyed Starcraft. I tried to like it, but was never any good at the multiplayer and didn't really enjoy the single player campaign. Will probably pick this up when it becomes cheap just so I have it in my collection.

 

[Mr. Mike]

It's July, not June guys. Funk, edit your article. The quote says July too. Just sayin'.

 

[Geamo]

Good stuff.

Any hints as to when the Beta's gonna close?

 

[John Funk]

It's July, not June guys. Funk, edit your article. The quote says July too. Just sayin'.

The article should say July, too...

 

[Internet Kraken]

Well I better get back to playing the beta. If I play it nonstop up until release, I might just be good enough to enter the silver league.

Okay, that's unlikely. But it's not gonna stop me from trying. The beta for this game is actually very good. And aside from some minor gripes (mostly involving the Zerg), I have no problems with the game. I fully expect this to be an awesome title, so I don't regret my pre-purchase at all.

And if this turns out to be another Spore, I'll never stop raging about it.

 

[Cucumber]

Fiinally... fantastic, ooh, can't wait. Although I've played the beta for a fair bit now, I can't wait to see the single-player too. I just hope I'm not setting my expectations up too high.

 

[Sebenko]

I'm probably going to buy this. I was never any good at SC, but the modding scene looks great, and it's probably going to be polished to perfection.

Any news on DRM? Seems every new game has some DRM we can have a jolly good rage at.

 

[OmegaXzors]

I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition for this already. I have been playing the beta for it "too much." I'm excited for this game. The lack of LAN is disappoint, but if it turns you away that badly, I'm sorry. It's a great follow-up.

I haven't been this excited for a game since God of War III. Before that, well...expansions to Guild Wars? I guess.

 

[Nimbus]

About that trailer:

To all people who say graphics are good enough, that Crysis is a waste of space, and that gameplay is all that matters; If we stop now, in-game graphics will never look as detailed as that trailer!

But if we don't stop...

Imagine, if every unit looked as detailed as that one there. THAT is why graphics need to keep improving.

Also... DAMN STRAIGHT IT'S ABOUT TIME!

 

[OmegaXzors]

About that trailer:

To all people who say graphics are good enough, that Crysis is a waste of space, and that gameplay is all that matters; If we stop now, in-game graphics will never look as detailed as that trailer!

But if we don't stop...

Imagine, if every unit looked as detailed as that one there. THAT is why graphics need to keep improving.

Also... DAMN STRAIGHT IT'S ABOUT TIME!

To correct you, graphics go beyond what our technology can perform. Did you know that?

 

[Richard Hannay]

My friends and I entered into a pool when SC2 was first announced as to when it would actually be released. If this date turns out to be the real deal, I'll be off by 7 months and 3 days. I'll lose, but at least it won't be much.

 

[phohouse]

Three days before my birthday. I'm going to get my brother to get it for me and then rub it in his face. He's been a Starcraft addict since it came out.

 

[Notthatbright]

Its going to be a great game, but vanilla multiplayer did nothing but bore me to death. I figure I'll play unique custom maps like the starcraftkart mod, and hope that more interesting stuff comes down the line.