Blizzard Confirms StarCraft II News

As widely expected - despite the cries for World of StarCraft - Blizzard Entertainment finally lifted the lid on the sequel to its 1998 RTS classic.

Confirming earlier reports, StarCraft II will see the return of the Protoss, Terran and Zerg races, over-hauled and re-imagined for what blizzard are describing as the "ultimate competitive real-time strategy game".

Blizzard promises several new units and gameplay mechanics for each race, along with a host of new abilities for some of the classic StarCraft units that will be making a reappearance. An all-new engine powers the sequel, introducing Havok physics technology and the scope to render large units along with massive armies on-screen simultaneously. Compatibility with DirectX 10 is promised, although the team are currently unsure whether this will result in exclusive effects or not.

Alongside the single-player campaign, Blizzard are working on the next evolution of Battle.net to power the multiplayer aspect of the game. The game will also include the map editor to provide fans the same level of control as Blizzard's designers.

"With StarCraft II, we'll be able to do everything we wanted to do with the original StarCraft and more," stated Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We recognize that expectations are high following the long-running popularity of the original game, but we plan to meet those expectations and deliver an engaging, action-packed, competitive experience that StarCraft players and strategy gamers worldwide will enjoy."