Blizzard announced something interesting thing week: StarCraft Remastered.
[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/5ypU9j4w3_w” width=”730″][/su_youtube]
Here’s what we know so far:
- They’ve been working on it for about a year
- Gameplay will be 4k UHD, cinematics 1080p
- There will be multiplayer (and it’ll be crossplay between HD and non HD versions)
- SC and BW originals are going to be free
- No pricing is announced yet
I’m curious about price. Being Blizzard, I don’t doubt they will try to charge $39 for this. Personally, I won’t pay more than $19.99 and that’s pushing it. I’d rather pay $9.99 and would happily do so. Since the multiplayer is compatible between both versions, and SC/BW are both going free, it’s curious to charge much at all for the HD version.
I have long been expecting and requesting Blizzard to travel down this road of remastered games. They have a library just begging to be redone. I want to see the original Warcraft, Warcraft 2, Diablo, and Diablo 2 redone. I’d even love to see Warcraft 3 remastered. I’ll put on my speculation cap once again and look for any opportunity I can to predict Warcraft 4… I bet they’ll remaster one game every 6 months to a year and have the Warcraft series culminate to the announcement of WC4.
Thoughts on remastered games? I’m a fan, obviously. But the price has the be right. I loved Diablo 2, but I can’t imagine paying more than $20 for the experience again. And there’s also the desire to play these games with quality-of-life improvements. Remake vs. remaster is an entirely different conversation, but one I think all of us will have with ourselves after we purchase our first remaster and wonder, perhaps, how we were ever able to stand playing these games.
will be free
The original SD versions will be free. The 4K remasters will not be free.
Back in late 2015 Blizzard had an ad up for devs specifically for remastering StarCraft, Diablo II, and Warcraft II. StarCraft is the first to be done, probably because it was also the easiest. There isn’t any 3D work, just updated 2D graphics and some new sounds.
I suspect that the next one we will see announced is the Diablo II remaster. The isometric perspective will be more work than StarCraft. I think Warcraft III will be last because it was fully 3D, looking almost like a rough prototype for WoW in hindsight.
Of course, if they just use the models and terrain from WoW, maybe we’ll see if before Diablo II.
*Warcraft III, not Warcraft II
My husband is saying this is part of their April Fool’s day stuff. 😛 It would be seriously awesome to see the classic Starcraft come back and be a worldwide “sport.” I hope it’s not a joke. 🙂
This doesn’t fit the Blizzard style for April Fool’s day jokes. There’s not an angle of absurdity at all.
My god, I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. When I was younger, I’d play Starcraft every day with my friends. We mostly played online “use map settings,” Defense games, RPGs, and many others.
Let’s hope it is not to expensive.