It’s Not a Good Sign for the Aging Game
Blizzard’s once titanic Starcraft franchise might be calling for curtains pretty soon. On October 15th, Blizzard has announced that it will no longer be providing Starcraft II with any updates consisting of paid content. Although this may sound good on the first read, it doesn’t mean that everything is becoming free, it just means there will probably no more content updates in general.
It’s no secret that Starcraft II has been dying slowly for the last few years. The genre of RTS, which at one point held the throne for the most popular esport, has almost disappeared entirely in terms of wide-market appeal. However, being the giant they are, Starcraft II has soldiered on with its dedicated fanbase.
Releasing content for its popular Co-op Commander mode by introducing new characters people can play as has been one of their most successful ventures in recent years. Additionally, they released Warchests, which was more honed toward competitive players to unlock cosmetics for their ladder games.
Although we can expect balance patches coming down the line for SC2, I think it’s safe to say that Blizzard is effectively shutting down the active development of this ageing giant.
