StarCraft II beta to start in "months"

By Oli Welsh Published 12 February, 2009

Will feature "basic version" of new Battle.net.

Speaking in yesterday's Activision Blizzard conference call, Blizzard operations chief Paul Sams mentioned that the beta test for StarCraft II will begin "in the months ahead".

That's hardly specific, but it sounds promising - and when it comes to Blizzard and release dates, you take what you can get. More interestingly perhaps, Sams mentioned that the beta would also see the introduction of the new version of Blizzard's Battle.net online gaming service.

"Also coming up in the months ahead will be the StarCraft II beta test," Sams Said. "The beta will be played on a basic version of our new Battle.net architecture, which will give us the opportunity to test the game and the service in a live environment. Over time, we will be adding features to deliver a second-generation Battle.net experience."

The feature set of the new Battle.net is the subject of much speculation among Blizzard watchers, so its arrival will be closely examined, even if it is in cut-down form. We know that Diablo III will also use it - and that both Diablo III and StarCraft II will feature Achievement systems similar to World of Warcraft's that integrate with a central Blizzard Account.

Sams offered no indication on whether we can expect to see the first instalment in the planned StarCraft II trilogy - Terrans: Wings of Liberty - this year. But once again, he did offer a little hope.

"We are aiming to release StarCraft II as soon as possible, but as with all previous Blizzard games; we won't ship it until we feel it is ready," he said.

You can find hands-on impressions and more at the StarCraft II gamepage.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (11) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • khaz #1 3 years ago

    Blizzard = my gods. All their games (Barring WoW) have a magical hold on me. I'll take whatever info I can get. :(

  • skillian #2 3 years ago

    I've never played Starcraft, and had dismissed RTS as "not for me" before Company of Heroes came out a couple of years ago. I was wrong. Can't wait to try out Starcraft II then :)

    I've gotta thank EG for my Dawn of War II beta key, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and can only hope you guys find a way to get me in this one too ;)

  • qoobah #3 3 years ago

    Yeah preatty much everything Blizz releases is pure gold in terms of polish.

    Still, after seeing the gameplay footage I'm a bit skeptic. I mean it's good 'ol Starcraft in new shiny dress, but to be honest after games like World in Conflict, Dawn of War, CoH or the tactical side of Total War series, I'm really not that excited about gameplay that looks so 1998. I grew to expect more bang from my RTS games.

    It might be a good e-sports game with perfect balance and micro, but I don't play games to make a living tbh.
    Edited by 2 at 12/02/09 @ 10:27

  • Dagdriver #4 3 years ago

    So, one of THE most overrated RTS of all times get follow up?
    Blizzard move on you keep beating the same old horse time and time again.....
    WarCraft 1 was great
    Diablo 1 was great
    warCraft 2 so-so
    StarCraft -overrated, mediocre
    Diablo 2 - boring
    WarCraft 3 - mediocre far from great, got bored half way through
    WOW - only fun if you invest massive amounts of playtime
    Diablo 3 - looks ok so far
    StarCraft 2 - leaves me stone cold, not the slightest bit interrested......

  • Schiraman #5 3 years ago

    Wait, what? They're doing a beta-test *before* they finalise the game code? Have they learnt nothing from Relic's DoW2 'beta'? ;)

  • Pirotic #6 3 years ago

    the game engine was probably feature complete nearly a year ago, I suspect most of the time they spend on it now is balancing gameplay and creating the single player content.

  • Macross #7 3 years ago

    Dag, ive actually played starcraft 2 and its bloody ace, altho it was against some random german bloke and he was better than me :)i cant wait!

  • warlockuk #8 3 years ago

    Who do we have to fuck to get in on the Beta?

  • Buran #9 3 years ago

    Dagdriver: Yo can't be more wrong.

  • mashk #10 3 years ago

    Have the dreaded machine specifications been released yet?

  • Dagdriver #11 3 years ago

    well good for you if SC2 turns out great, I don't care how many 11/10 scores it gets on all the commercial gaming sites (and it will no matter how bad ;oP), it won't get any of my money ;o)
    Edited by 1 at 12/02/09 @ 16:34