Blizzard's store lists StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm "available for play" on March 12, 2013
US store currently down for maintenance
Blizzard has been talking about StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm for quite a while now, even showing the game live at various eSport events or conventions and starting the beta in September. It looks like they've finally made up their minds on a release date, however, as the European Blizzard store now lists the game as "available for play" starting March 12, 2013. The expansion to StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will come in two versions, standard and digital deluxe, and will cost the price of a full retail game.
The standard edition of Heart of the Swarm will come with no extra goodies, as expect, but the Digital Deluxe version should please a few fans. Yet again, Blizzard is going for a cross-game bonus, expecting that those who would buy a Digital Deluxe edition likely play all Blizzard games and not just StarCraft II. Here's what's included:
- StarCraft II Torrasque Ultralisk and three swarm-infested portraits
- Exclusive Zerg baneling pet for World of Warcraft
- Diablo III Queen of Blades hero wings and Zerg banner sigils
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm's release date should excite quite a few gamers, especially considering the gathering mob claiming competitive StarCraft II is dying. Still, without word from Blizzard it would be shortsighted to claim this is "official," as the the store profile could be a temporary listing to allow pre-purchases. The North American Blizzard store is currently down for maintenance, but perhaps when it goes back up we can confirm the European store's details. Look for an update soon, most likely.
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The transition was handled very poorly by both Blizzard and KeSPA as well. For 2 years, SC2 and BW events were being held simultaneously, really splitting the scene. Had all the pro BW teams switched, it'd probably be doing much better. The release of HotS will certainly help, but I don't see it overtaking League anytime soon.
I'm hoping HotS takes competitive StarCraft to the next level. It's great to watch, and the more eSports the better.