Upgraded ‘StarCraft’ to be released this summer
Megahit computer strategy game “StarCraft” will be redesigned for ultra high-definition resolution and the latest multiplayer platform, Blizzard Entertainment said Sunday.
The U.S. game company said “StarCraft: Remastered” will overhaul the visual and audio experiences as well as network-play features, without affecting the original balance of game play.
Expectations are high that the upgraded version of “StarCraft” may help revive professional e-sports leagues and tournaments on the continuing popularity of the 19-year-old real-time strategy classic here.
“With StarCraft: Remastered, we’re modernizing the original game’s visuals, audio and online support to ensure players can enjoy StarCraft for another 20 years and beyond,” Blizzard Entertainment co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime said at a press conference in Seoul.
Morhaime visited Korea to celebrate the 19th anniversary of “StarCraft.”
The new version will be released this summer for both Windows and Mac systems, he said. The price has not been disclosed.
Blizzard Entertainment started to redesign the game 18 months ago. It stressed the goal was to rebuild the classic game without changing core features of the game.
The company said the new version will support Korean alongside 12 other languages. It will also come with new UHD illustrations for the campaign missions for the original “StarCraft” and its expansion pack “Brood War,” the company said. The original “StarCraft” was made for 640 by 480 resolution and 256 colors.
The game will be compatible with the current “Battle.net” multiplayer platform for improved match-making and social communication features.
The old version of “StarCraft” will receive an update next week and the game will be downloadable free of charge online, according to the company.
“StarCraft” was released globally on March 31, 1998. The game is a military science fiction that depicts a struggle between three species — the Terrans, the Zergs and the Protoss.
Its expansion pack, “Brood War,” ignited a fad in Korea on the explosive spread of PC rooms throughout the country. It also contributed to the start of e-sports industry here with multiple leagues and tournaments of professional gamers drawing massive popularity both domestically and globally.
But a series of match-rigging scandals and a dispute between Blizzard Entertainment and Korea’s e-sports lobby inflicted heavy blows to the professional leagues and tournaments of “StarCraft” here in the early 2000s.
The professional e-sports competitions lost steam and gave way to Riot Games’ “League of Legends.” But “StarCraft” continues to remain on the top 10 computer online games chart even now as many gamers have continued to play it at home and in PC rooms.