Starcraft II Goes to China, Beta Starts of March 29

Developer Blizzard Entertainment has announced that on March 29 it will begin a beta testing phase for the Chinese version of its real-time strategy hit Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, with the plan being to launch the game during this year on the Chinese market.

The beta test period will allow players to create an account on Battle.net and then engage in multiplayer matches for free.

No single player content will be included and gamers will be encouraged to deliver feedback to Blizzard, allowing the company to create the best multiplayer experience it can on the day of the official launch.

The developer is working with NetEase, the company which is currently running the MMO World of Warcraft in China, to adapt Starcraft II to the need of the huge and potentially very lucrative Chinese gaming market.

The business model is very different from that used on Western markets.

Chinese Starcraft II players will be able to pay 20 Yuan, which is the equivalent of about 3 dollars, in order to get access to both the single-player and the multiplayer segments of the game for 30 full days.

Mike Morhaime, who is the president of Blizzard, has stated, “We've been continuing to balance and make improvements to the game since its global release last July, and we think Chinese players will agree that StarCraft II has been worth the wait.”

William Ding, the chief executive officer of NetEase, has added, “The original StarCraft is considered to be one of the classic real-time strategy games, which are highly popular among Chinese players, and we believe that StarCraft II will bring even more exciting competitive action to the Chinese gaming community.”

The first installment in the Starcraft II saga has launched in the West during July 2010 and has since managed to sell more than 4.5 million units, one of the best-selling real-time strategy game ever.