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'Starcraft II' Goes Free-to-Play on Tuesday (techcrunch.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the free-as-in-beer dept.

An anonymous reader quotes TechCrunch: It was only in April that Blizzard made the original StarCraft free to play, and now the company has done the same for its sequel. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, which is certainly the most-played real-time strategy game ever made, will be free for anyone to play starting on November 14. Of course there's a catch, but nothing nefarious. The game was divided into three episodes, each focusing on one of the three playable races (Human, Zerg and Protoss -- but you knew that), and only the first (the human one) will be available for free. If you already own Wings of Liberty (as the episode is called) you can also get the Heart of the Swarm chapter for free by logging in and claiming it before December 8.
TechCrunch calls it "a good way to onboard new players who just never wanted to pay full price to find out if they liked it."

6 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. Too laet by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

    Zerg rush! Zerg rush!

    I'm in ur base killing ur doodz!

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  2. Re:So... by xlsior · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What if you supported Blizzard by paying for both "Wings of Liberty" and "Heart of the Swarm"? You get nothing?

    You got several years of enjoyment and earlier access?

  3. Re:So... by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    You get to enjoy ripping those noobs starting out now a new one with your vast amounts of experience, is that nothing?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  4. Re:So... by xlsior · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Their actual customers get to see a fresh influx of new players, keeping the ecosystem healthy for a at least a few more years?

  5. Read the EULA by arit · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Blizzard End User License Agreement has all sorts of nuggets, like their Consent to Monitor: "... THE PLATFORM ... MAY MONITORY YOUR COMPUTER ... MEMORY FOR UNAUTHORIZED THIRD PARTY PROGRAMS ..." What can go wrong?

    1. Re:Read the EULA by JThundley · · Score: 3

      That's pretty much how any modern game's anti-cheat works.