We have a bit of bad news for the hardcore StarCraft 2 players and fans. Blizzard announced that it’s no longer going to be creating any additional for-purchase content for the RTS game. This comes in the same year that StarCraft 2 is celebrating its 10th year. In fact, one of the game’s largest patches ever was also released this year.
The original StarCraft game was released all the way back in 1998. Its expansion pack, Brood War, was released later in the same year. It would be more than a decade before the sequel, StarCraft 2, was released in 2010.
This latest announcement for StarCraft 2 was revealed by none other than Blizzard Executive Producer and Vice-President Rob Bridenbecker. While indeed Blizzard won’t be coming up with new for-purchase content, Bridenbecker said in a post that they’re going to continue supporting StarCraft 2 “in the same manner as we have with our previous longstanding games, such as Brood War, focusing primarily on what our core and competitive communities care about most.” So this means that there’s still going to be season rolls and needed balance fixes.
In addition, Blizzard isn’t going to be releasing a Q4 balance update. However, Bridenbecker added that they “do plan to continue doing them as needed in the future.”
There is a bit of good news though, as Bridenbecker did say that by doing this, it’s going to “free us up to think about what’s next, not just with regard to StarCraft 2, but for the StarCraft universe as a whole.” This can mean either a new sequel or a new expansion. However, it’s probably going to be way further down the line.
Another bit of good news as well, the StarCraft 2 esports scene is going to continue on, especially through the partnership with ESL Gaming and GSL. StarCraft has always been a game that has changed the lives of people who have devoted themselves to it, whether as a player, streamer, content creator, or even as a member of the community. The game has taught everyone that the process of improvement is a reward in itself.
Bridenbecker ended his announcement by saying that they are grateful to everyone for the support and that the StarCraft community has been “one of the most passionate, creative, and dedicated communities in all of gaming.”
What do you think? Is this a good move by Blizzard? Are you excited for what could be next with StarCraft? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
