14 DAY TRIAL // In a surprising move, Blizzard announced over the weekend that it's making StarCraft II free-to-play starting November 14. The decision is meant to breath new life in the best-selling PC game franchises of all time and increase the players pool.
Naturally, the announcement is of no concerns to fans who have already bought StarCraft II a long time ago, but it's great to see some developers are willing to give back to the community, especially those that create healthy environments for game development.
So, what exactly free-to-play means and what parts of the StarCraft franchises you will be able to play without paying anything starting mid-November?
According to Blizzard, players will have free access to the original Wings of Liberty single-player campaign and every Co-op Commander, and will be able to unlock access to StarCraft II's competitive multiplayer content for free.
However, if you've already bought Wings of Libery, Blizzard will give you the second installment in StarCraft II's saga, Heart of the Swarm, for free. Keep in mind that you must log in between November 8 and December 8 to claim the zerg-focused expansion.
It's also worth mentioning that current and upcoming Co-op Commanders will be available to play for free up to level five, and the level restriction for weekly mutations has been removed. The Co-op Commanders Raynor, Kerrigan, and Artanis will remain completely free, so you won't have to worry about level restrictions.
Finally, ranked multiplayer ladder will be free to access so that you can compete with other players using all of the multiplayer units from Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void. In order to unlock it permanently, you have to earn 10 First Wins of the Day in Unranked or Versus A.I. Play.
And there's one more surprise for StarCraft fans, as Blizzard announced that all who have already purchased any of the three campaign as of October 31 will receive a small thank-you in the form of an exclusive Ghost skin, alongside three new portraits.