Blizzard Confirms StarCraft 2

Sometimes I wish that big, secret, hush-hush announcements were occasionally…surprising. The rumour mill has been rife with claims that the next major Blizzard project would be StarCraft 2. Blizzard pulled a “neither confirm nor deny” sort of stance, which all but morphs a possibility into a probability. Still, we were all supposed to be waiting with baited breath as Blizzard was scheduled to make the official project announcement from South Korea, as part of the company’s 2007 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event. With thousands of rapt Korean fans waiting outside the venue to cheer the announcement, it seemed like folks were very excited but not-so-surprised by Blizzard’s official schpiel.
The sequel to the rabidly popular StarCraft, released in 1998, will be a radical shift in gameplay and content, thanks largely to the explosion of new game styles and technologies in recent years. New units, abilities and gameplay mechanics will be offered up for use, as will a custom 3D-graphics engine with the 3D rendering power to more impressively detail the scope and scale of the StarCraft universe. The project has been worked on quietly since shortly after the completion of WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne, meaning that Blizzard has kept mostly mum for about four years (2003).

StarCraft 2 will have huge shoes to follow, seeing that the original remains one of the most beloved and long-played titles in gaming history, not to mention spawning a veritable army of associated memorabilia. Blizzard recognizes the challenges ahead, as Mike Morhaime said in South Korea:

“With StarCraft II, we’ll be able to do everything we wanted to do with the original StarCraft and more. We recognize that expectations are high following the long-running popularity of the original game, but we plan to meet those expectations and deliver an engaging, action-packed, competitive experience that StarCraft players and strategy gamers worldwide will enjoy.”

The official site is now live at StarCraft2.com, and versions for both the PC and Macs (woo!) are in the works. IGN Extreme have posted a 20 minute video of what you can expect, and further media tidbits abound at the official site.

Via | GamesPress