Blizzard looking into turning Starcraft 2′s multiplayer into a free-to-play experience
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I’ve never really fancied the free-to-play model as it usually leads gamers to spend more than they would have if they had bought the game outright. However it seems that the F2P model is catching on and it seems that Blizzard might be interested in it as well. If you thought that this might have something to do with their MMORPG, World of Warcraft, you’d be mistaken as apparently Blizzard is currently looking at perhaps turning the Starcraft 2 multiplayer experience into a F2P one. This was revealed (via PCGamesn) at Valencia eSports Congress by Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm’s lead designer Dustin Bowder. However this is not a guarantee and is by no means confirmation, but rather Blizzard just exploring the possibility.
According to Bowder, “We don’t know how [Blizzard] would monetize it. While it might be good fun for me to play against someone with only half the units available to them, that’s not going to be an enjoyable experience for them.” What do you guys think? Should Blizzard embrace the F2P model for Starcraft 2?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LAN still a no-show in StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, apparently not part of Blizzard’s philosophy, StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm beta coming “very soon”,
A while back we mentioned that Blizzard would be launching the Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm beta 
Back in the day when internet speeds were not as fast as they are today, many gamers relied on LAN connections to play multiplayer games together. Blizzard’s games in the past used LAN, such as StarCraft and Warcraft, but as StarCraft 2 gamers are probably familiar, the LAN feature is currently missing. For those who don’t mind playing online, it’s not a big deal but for those who like to go to friend’s houses to play multiplayer games, having many friends hog the internet is usually a recipe for a slowed down connection. Now if you were hoping that Blizzard will introduce the LAN feature come Heart of the Swarm expansion, you’d be out of luck.
Blizzard’s StarCraft 2 has enjoyed a huge amount of success, and if you’re looking forward to the next expansion, Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard has announced that the beta for the upcoming expansion is expected to take place “very soon”. The beta is expected to be sent out to a handful of players, such as those who helped test patch 1.5, pro gamers, the press (like us, hopefully!) and will basically beta test the multiplayer experience. Blizzard is also expected to add more testers to the mix over time and the good news is that you can opt in for the beta if you like. The instructions can be found on Blizzard’s website in the source link below, but it should be noted that opting in for the beta does not guarantee you a spot, but at least you’ll be on the list! So, who can’t wait to get their hands on the Heart of the Swarm beta?
Heads up Starcraft 2 gamers, we know that many of you guys are probably eagerly anticipating the upcoming Heart of the Swarm expansion, but if you’ve not stopped playing completely, you might be interested to learn that patch 1.5.0 has been released. The patch, in case you didn’t already update or didn’t know, will introduce significant UI changes to Battle.net, such as adding an Arcade game menu, a new streaming launcher, QuickNav, graphical improvements, new Editor modules and the usual bug fixes and what not. The changelog is pretty extensive so instead of copying it in its entirety, players who want to find out exactly what has been changed in their game, head on over to the Starcraft 2 website in the link below!
As most hardcore PC gamers will tell you – nothing will replace the traditional mouse and keyboard combo, especially when it comes to real time strategy games. However, that doesn’t stop people from trying to come up with alternatives. For SRK’s cross-over contest, a guy named Mauricio Romana decided to come up with an arcade stick that can be used to play Starcraft 2. His winning entry made use of an Ultrastick analog joystick configured to work as a mouse, and a collection of Sanwa buttons to replicate the keys of a keyboard.
Blizzard is one games company that definitely has plenty of gamers in their pocket – figuratively speaking, of course, not only their hearts but their money as well. After all, they have basically churned out hit after hit, and prior to Diablo III being one heck of a title, there was the award winning StarCraft II title. Of course, another way to expand upon canon in the game as well as develop its stories further, would be to release expansions. And this is exactly what Blizzard has in mind with StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Blizzard recently announced that gamescom attendees will be able to play 