As part of Blizzard’s phenomenal presentation at Blizzcon 2017, the company announced that Starcraft II will officially go free-to-play later this month.
When any gamer hears the phrase “free-to-play” they tend to associate it with “pay-to-win” or microtransactions. Of course, this situation is somewhat true with Starcraft II, but with a small catch. Free-to-play includes the base game (Wings of Liberty), ranked multiplayer, and co-op commanders (up to level five).
The updated release does not include the expansions or most of the co-op commanders (after level five). Of course, this lack is not something to complain about since Blizzard is giving away free content, although use of the phrase free-to-play does raise concerns.
The expansions (‘Heart of the Swarm‘, ‘Legacy of the Void‘, and ‘Nova Covert Ops‘) can be purchased individually for USD$14.99 or as a package for $39.99. Those who purchased any of the expansions before October 31 will receive an exclusive ghost skin, while those who already own Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty will gain free access to ‘Heart of the Swarm’s’ campaign.
With the move to free-to-play, Blizzard has reassured fans that the game will not include a microtransaction system. Starcraft II goes free-to-play on PC on November 14.
Some of the other major announcements coming out of Blizzcon 2017 included the confirmation of vanilla servers for World of Warcraft and a new Overwatch character.
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