A report by Korean news site iNews24 claims that Blizzard’s classic real-time strategy game StarCraft is getting an HD remaster, with more details to come this year.
Hot off the heels of Overwatch and its success, all eyes are on Blizzard to see what the company will do next. Well, if Korean news site iNews24 is to be believed, Blizzard’s next project will actually be a return to one of the company’s most celebrated titles, in the form of a StarCraft HD remaster.
According to iNews24, the StarCraft HD remaster will feature the original game’s gameplay, but will also have updated graphics and a reworked user interface – presumably one more in line withStarCraft II. Further details on the supposed StarCraft HD remaster are not available at this time, but it is said that the game’s official announcement could come as soon as September.
The StarCraft II World Championship Series finals are scheduled to take place from September 10th to 11th in Mexico City, so the announcement could take place then. From there, Blizzard is expected to offer more concrete details on the StarCraft HD remaster at BlizzCon 2016 in November. At that point, fans can expect to learn about any possible new features StarCraft HD will bring to the table, and what platforms the remaster will be available on.
It’s obvious to anyone familiar with the franchise that if theStarCraft HD remaster does exist, it will be available on PC, at the very least. However, Blizzard’s success with Diablo IIIand Overwatch on PS4 and Xbox One may mean that the company is more willing to give consoles a chance as well. As some may recall, the original StarCraft actually had a console version for Nintendo 64, so seeing the remaster come to modern consoles is not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
If StarCraft HD was brought to PC as well as consoles, Blizzard could maximize its potential user base. Furthermore, if PS4 to Xbox One cross-play becomes a reality, Blizzard could have StarCraft HD players across all platforms play together online, which should go a long way in keeping its online community active. Blizzard has already expressed interest in bringing cross-platform play to Overwatch, so one has to assume it would be interested in such a feature for StarCraft HD as well.
That’s just speculation at this time, and for now, fans of StarCraft should keep their expectations in check. There’s a chance that the game is not even in development, so it’s best to wait for an official announcement from Blizzard before getting too excited. Luckily, if iNews24’s information is accurate, that announcement could come as early as next month.
StarCraft is available now for PC and Nintendo 64.
