Blizzard to start "gamerscore" system News

World of Warcraft lead designer Jeff Kaplan has let slip the first details of a Blizzard Account system that will track Achievements across all the publisher's games.

Speaking to MTV, Kaplan revealed plans to include Achievements in StarCraft II and Diablo III and allow players to improve their "Blizzard Level".

Blizzard recently announced the inclusion of Achievements in second WOW expansion Wrath of the Lich King.

"Eventually, our plans are for the Achievement system to become an account-based system," Kaplan said.

"It's basically a gamerscore," he continued. "For now, the points are just a WOW character score. As we graduate to that Blizzard Account system, which is right on the horizon, it will switch over to a Blizzard Level... Rather than call it a 'score', we just wanted it to be like you're levelling up on Blizzard games."

Players of the Lich King beta test in the US have been asked to create a Blizzard Account before starting, although the same is not true of the European beta.

Kaplan also revealed a few more details on WOW's Achievement system. Prior to the introduction of the Blizzard Account, it will be tied into character profiles on the WOW Armory website.

He also revealed that the first content patch for Wrath of the Lich King will include Achievements that are account-based, rather than character-based. "Things like, 'I have a Horde and Alliance character at maximum level' or 'I have three max-level characters'," he said.

We'll be very interested to see how Blizzard Accounts develop, and how they tie in to the company's revamped Battle.net online gaming platform, due to launch alongside StarCraft II.