Blizzard has officially started taking preorders for StarCraft: Remastered before the game's release on Aug. 14, and shared some details regarding what to expect.
The original StarCraft was a massive hit worldwide and it still enjoys a solid fan base, especially after Blizzard released the first patch in more than eight years back in April. At the same time, the company also made StarCraft entirely free for everyone, further boosting its appeal. That was just a taste to create momentum, as more goodies are in the cards.
StarCraft: Remastered Coming Soon
StarCraft is getting completely remastered and it's all set to hit the scene on Aug. 14, playable on both Windows and Mac, and it will include the StarCraft: Brood War expansion. The remastered game comes with a $15 price tag and interested customers can already preorder it.
"Prepare to rediscover a classic. StarCraft: Remastered upgrades Blizzard Entertainment's original sci-fi real-time strategy game and its acclaimed expansion, StarCraft: Brood War, from beginning to end," touts the game's description. "Experience the intergalactic battle between the terran, protoss, and zerg with improved graphics and audio...and the same classic gameplay that made StarCraft a global phenomenon."
StarCraft: Remastered Upgrades And Preorder Perks
Considering that Blizzard offered the original StarCraft for free back in April, the remastered version should come with notable upgrades and perks to make it worth the $15 price tag. Blizzard is well aware of this, so it upped the ante and upgraded several aspects of the game, including the graphics that now support 4K even for wide-screen displays.
StarCraft: Remastered should also boast superior audio and high-fidelity music, as well as other changes to the game itself. Expected upgrades include new leaderboards and matchmaking options, new player profile, individual stats tracking, cloud saves, and more.
To further sweeten the deal, Blizzard is also throwing in some additional incentives. All gamers who preorder the game before the Aug. 14 release will also get three "unique building skins" to use in the game: the Korhal Command Center, the Char Hive, and the Aiur Nexus. At the same time, preorder customers will also get digital bonuses in StarCraft II, complete with the Alexei Stukov co-op commander and three other portraits celebrating the remastered version.
Preserving The Original StarCraft Experience
Despite the upgrades, the development team wanted to stay true to the original experience so StarCraft players should immediately recognize everything as soon as they enter the world of StarCraft: Remastered. The new version doesn't aim to bring a new experience, but to enhance the original one and breathe some new life into the old game to make it more appealing.
Those who don't like the new graphics, meanwhile, will be able to easily switch to the old ones with the press of a button.
As a reminder, Blizzard's original StarCraft RTS classic hit the scene nearly two decades ago, back in 1998, and it turned into a massive hit. The remastered version will bring it more in line with current times, but without compromising the original experience so many gamers fell in love with.
