Blizzard has announced that the popular real time strategy game "StarCraft II" will be free-to-play starting next week. The free version will cover different modes like single player campaign, cooperative mode, and online multiplayer modes.
The company announced the big news during the BlizzCon 2017. The game will become free-to-play starting Nov. 14. "Wings of Liberty," the first single player campaign of the title, will be offered for free, along with the cooperative Commanders until level five.
The game's ranked online multiplayer mode is also free. However, players will have to unlock it first by getting 10 "First Wins of the Day" in unranked games or games against artificial intelligence (AI). According to Blizzard, adding the unlocking requirement will help "preserve the quality and integrity" of the game's competitive ranked experience.
For players who have already purchased "Wings of Liberty" previously, Blizzard will be giving the second expansion of the game, "Heart of the Swarm," for free.
Tim Morten, Blizzard's production director for "StarCraft II," revealed that the idea of moving the game to a free-to-play model has been considered by the company for some time. He said that they have received feedback that although much of the game was free all thanks to the starter edition, that version was not well-known among consumers.
The director also said that they found that people were confused about what they need to buy to begin playing "StarCraft II." "We wanted to cut through that confusion and announce that StarCraft 2 is free-to-play," said Morten.
The title's legacy as an esport was another factor in transitioning the game to a free-to-play model. "StarCraft II," as well as its predecessor, which dominated the PC gaming landscape in the late 90s and early 2000s, both have big and competitive fan bases. Making the game free-to-play will open it to a wider range of new players and competitors.
