The Future of StarCraft II 2018

Today at BlizzCon, Day[9] sat down with members of the StarCraft II development team to discuss what’s next for the game. There are plenty of exciting changes coming, including new Co-op content, Multiplayer design changes, additions to the War Chest, and the transition to Free to Play. Read on to learn more.

Free to Play

Getting started with StarCraft II can be a bit confusing for new players. With options like Starter Edition, Legacy of the Void, and The Complete Collection, it wasn’t immediately clear which version to choose. That’s why we’re changing the name of the game from StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void to StarCraft II. With this change, we’re also introducing Free to Play content for each game mode. You can learn more about what free content will be available in each game mode here.

New Co-op Content

Get ready for trouble, and make it double with the new Co-op Commander: Han and Horner. You read that right—we’re introducing a Commander with two characters. Matt Horner is the straightlaced and tactical Admiral of the Dominion Fleet, and his better half, Mira Han, commands her reckless and explosive mercenary forces.

In addition, we’re also excited to release a new Co-op Mission: Part and Parcel, the winning submission of our Rock the Cabinet 2017 community map contest. In this mission, you’ll collect parts to repair the secret weapon, the Balius, then fight alongside it against all new hybrid monstrosities. With new mechanics, a full art pass, and voiceover from General Davis, Part and Parcel is going into the official map pool later this month.

Multiplayer Design Changes

For the last several months, we’ve been hard at work overhauling unit balance. Our overall goals for Multiplayer are as follows:

• Reduce sudden game ending moments.
• Make support units effective in smaller numbers.
• Promote player control over game state.
• Ensure units have a unique role.

If you’ve been following along, many of these changes will be familiar to you, and while these aren’t all of the changes, here are some highlights:

Protoss

The Mothership Core has been removed and replaced with the Shield Battery to help Protoss players with early-game defense.

Terran

The Raven is receiving new abilities. The Repair Drone automatically heals nearby mechanical units while the Anti-Armor Missile deals splash damage and reduces the armor of the units it hits. It also is equipped with an Interference Matrix which will prevent a unit from attacking or using abilities.

Zerg

The Infestor is getting several changes to its abilities. Fungal Growth will no longer root enemies but instead greatly slow its targets, giving players a bit more control when they are ensnared.

The full Multiplayer update will arrive with the next major patch coming after BlizzCon, so stay tuned!

War Chest 2

We’re excited to announce the contents of our second War Chest, which will include three new army skins: Purifier Protoss, Primal Zerg, and Mira’s Marauders. We don’t have the skins to show off just yet but look for more information in the future.

War Chest 2 will also include three issues of the Shadow Wars comics that continue the story of Elms, Urun, and Niadra. Featuring a new artist, Miguel Sepulveda, these eight-page issues will have far-reaching consequences for the sector! Here’s an early look at the cover art we revealed today at BlizzCon:

Free to Play, new Co-op content, Multiplayer design changes, and another War Chest . . . there are a lot of exiting changes coming to StarCraft II! Let us know what you’re most excited about in the comments. You can also watch a replay of the entire panel as well as unlock in-game loot with the virtual ticket.