StarCraft II Patch 1.5.0 Beta Brings the Arcade Service

After a lengthy wait and plenty of rumors, Blizzard has finally posted patch 1.5.0 for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, which, although still in beta, offers players access to the long-awaited Arcade service from where they can download custom games for the strategy title.

StarCraft II offered a great experience when it came out, back in 2010, but while Blizzard has tried to keep things interesting, many players got bored with the standard game and kept on waiting for the promised Arcade service that would let them download custom experiences.

Now, after many promises, Blizzard is finally offering players a chance to try out the Arcade system through the beta version of patch 1.5.0 for StarCraft II.

“The Patch 1.5.0 Beta introduces an entirely new Battle.net experience: the Arcade. The Arcade offers exciting new ways to find and play your favorite custom games -- and discover new favorites too -- with the option to search for games based on categories including genre, star ratings, release date, and more,” Blizzard said.

Once you find custom games that peak your interest, the Arcade service offers a variety of details on them in order to help make up your mind.

“After you’ve found a game that you’re interested in, the new Game Info page will provide you with all the information you need to know before you dive in, including a description, screenshots, instructions, patch notes, tutorials, as well as star ratings and reviews provided by your fellow players. The Open Games list will help keep wait times down by displaying games that are waiting for players too.”

In order to get players to start downloading and rating these custom games, Blizzard is organizing a sweepstakes that will see 250 gamers receive beta keys for the upcoming StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm installment.

“To enter the contest, all you have to do is play, rate, and review an Arcade game. The first time you rate and review a new game each day the contest is running gives you another chance to win, so it pays to visit every day until the contest ends,” Blizzard said about the sweepstakes.

If you want to get in on the beta action, then you have to visit the Battle.net account management page and install the Arcade (1.5) Beta found in the Game Accounts section.