StarCraft is a science fiction media franchise made up of real-time strategy video games developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. The series has several games which carry the main story arc: StarCraft , its expansion pack StarCraft: Brood War , and the trilogy StarCraft II . In addition, the series incorporates media that include spin-off video games, [1] tabletop games, [2] novelizations, graphic novels, and other literature. [3] A variety of toys have also been produced. [4] Set in the 26th century, the series revolves around three species fighting for dominance in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy: the Terrans, humans exiled from Earth who are adept at conforming to any situation; the Zerg, a race of insectoids obsessed with the pursuit of genetic perfection through the assimilation of other races; and the Protoss, a humanoid species with advanced technology and psionic abilities attempting to preserve from the Zerg both their civilization and strict philosophical way of living. [5]
Conceived by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, the StarCraft series has been a commercial and critical success. The first game, StarCraft, is regarded as being highly influential in the real-time strategy genre. [6] Combined with its official expansion, Brood War, over 10 million copies of StarCraft have been sold globally. [7] StarCraft remains one of the most popular online games in the world; [8] Blizzard Entertainment reported an 800 percent increase in Battle.net service usage after the game's release in 1998. [9] The original StarCraft and its expansion are particularly popular in South Korea, where a successful eSports scene has been established. [10]
Game | Release date | |||
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North America | PAL region | |||
StarCraft | 31 March 1998 [11] | 31 March 1998 [11] | ||
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StarCraft: Insurrection | 31 July 1998 [15] | 31 July 1998 [15] | ||
StarCraft: Retribution | Late 1998 [16] | Late 1998 [16] | ||
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StarCraft: Brood War | 30 November 1998 [17] | March 1999 [18] | ||
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StarCraft 64 | 13 June 2000 [19] | 16 June 2000 [19] | ||
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StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | July 27, 2010 [22] | July 27, 2010 [22] | ||
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StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm | March 12, 2013 | March 12, 2013 | ||
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StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void | November 10, 2015 | November 10, 2015 | ||
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StarCraft: Ghost | Cancelled | Cancelled | ||
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Game | Release date | Media type |
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StarCraft Adventures | July 2000 [30] | Role-playing game |
StarCraft: The Board Game | October 2007 [2] | Board game |
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Title | Release date | Length | Label | |
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StarCraft: Game Music Vol. 1 | January 2000 [32] | 56:49 | Net Vision Entertainment | |
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StarCraft Original Soundtrack | 10 August 2008 [33] | 63:34 | Azeroth Music | |
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Title | Release date | ISBN | Media type |
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StarCraft: Revelations | 29 March 1999 [3] | — | Short story |
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StarCraft: Hybrid | Second quarter of 2000 [35] | — | Short story |
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StarCraft: Uprising | 18 December 2000 [36] | ISBN 978-0-7434-1898-0 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade | 1 March 2001 [37] | ISBN 978-0-671-04148-9 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga | 1 July 2001 [38] | ISBN 978-0-671-04149-6 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: Speed of Darkness | 1 June 2002 [39] | ISBN 978-0-671-04150-2 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: Queen of Blades | 1 June 2006 [40] | ISBN 978-0-7434-7133-6 | Novelization |
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StarCraft Ghost: Nova | 28 November 2006 [41] | ISBN 978-0-7434-7134-3 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #1: Firstborn | 22 May 2007 [42] | ISBN 978-0-7434-7125-1 | Novelization |
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The StarCraft Archive | 13 November 2007 [43] | ISBN 978-1-4165-4929-1 | Anthology |
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StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #2: Shadow Hunters | 27 November 2007 [44] | ISBN 978-1-4165-8003-4 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: Frontline | August 2008 [45] | ISBN 978-1-4278-0721-2 | Graphic novel |
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StarCraft: I, Mengsk | 30 December 2008 [46] | ISBN 978-1-4165-5083-9 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #3: Twilight | 30 June 2009 [47] | ISBN 978-0-7434-7129-9 | Novelization |
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StarCraft: Ghost Academy | 1 February 2010 [48] | ISBN 978-1-4278-1612-2 | Graphic novel |
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StarCraft Ghost: Spectres | 27 September 2011 [49] | ASIN B01K1585DC | Novelization |
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StarCraft: Evolution | 8 November 2016 | ISBN 978-0425284735 | Novelization |
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Heaven's Devil's (Starcraft II #1) | 6 April 2010 | ISBN 9781416550846 | Novelization |
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Devil's Due (Starcraft II #2) | 12 April 2011 | ISBN 9781416550853 | Novelization |
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Flashpoint (Starcraft II #3) | 6 November 2012 | ISBN 978-0425284735 | Novelization |
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Title | Release date | Media type |
---|---|---|
StarCraft Battle Chest | 31 December 1999 [50] | Video game compilation |
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StarCraft Cinematics DVD | First quarter of 2001 [52] | Cinematic cut scene collection |
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Heroes of the Storm | 2 June 2015 [53] | Video game |
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StarCraft is a 1998 military science fiction real-time strategy game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. The game spawned the StarCraft franchise, and became the first game of the video game series. A Classic Mac OS version was released in 1999, and a Nintendo 64 adaptation, co-developed with Mass Media, was released in 2000.
StarCraft: Ghost was a military science fiction stealth-action video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It was intended to be part of Blizzard's StarCraft series and was announced in September 20, 2002. It was to be developed by Nihilistic Software for the GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. Several delays in development caused Blizzard to move back the release date and the game has not materialized. Nihilistic Software ceded development to Swingin' Ape Studios in 2004 before Blizzard bought the company, and plans for the GameCube version were canceled in 2005.
StarCraft: Brood War is the expansion pack for the military science fiction real-time strategy video game StarCraft. Released in December 1998 for Microsoft Windows and June 1999 for Mac OS, it was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment. The expansion pack introduces new campaigns, map tilesets, music, extra units for each race, and upgrade advancements. The campaigns continue the story from where the original StarCraft ended, with the sequel, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, continuing from the conclusion of Brood War. The expansion was released first in the United States on December 18, 1998.
Blizzard North was an American video game development studio based in San Mateo, California. The studio was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for its Diablo series. The company was originally based in Redwood City, California, before moving a short distance away to San Mateo, with Blizzard proper being based in Irvine, southern California.
4X is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and include both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.
James Eugene Raynor is a fictional character and a major protagonist in Blizzard Entertainment's science fiction StarCraft series. Raynor is a predominant character in the science fiction real-time strategy video games StarCraft and Brood War, and is a player character in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. He also appears as a playable character in the crossover multiplayer online battle arena game Heroes of the Storm. Outside video games, Raynor appears in the novels Liberty's Crusade and Queen of Blades, while his backstory is explored in the novels Heaven's Devils and Devil's Due. Robert Clotworthy voices the character in all video game appearances.
The Grinch is a video game based on the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The game was released around the time the film hit theaters in 2000. George Lowe does uncredited work as the narrator of the game. The Game Boy Color version was ported to Japan for release on November 22, 2000.
Blizzard Entertainment's real-time strategy game series StarCraft revolves around interstellar affairs in a distant sector of the galaxy, with three species and multiple factions all vying for supremacy in the sector. The playable species of StarCraft include the Terrans, humans exiled from Earth who excel at adapting to any situation; the Zerg, a race of insectoid aliens obsessed with assimilating other races in pursuit of genetic perfection; and the Protoss, a technologically advanced humanoid species with psionic abilities that attempts to preserve their civilization and strict philosophical way of living from the Zerg. Each of these races is the focus of a series of missions in the single-player campaign of each StarCraft real-time strategy game. In addition to these three, various non-playable races have also been part of the lore of the StarCraft series; the most notable of these is the Xel'Naga, an ancient god-like race which features prominently in the fictional histories of the Protoss and Zerg.
StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance among four species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the ever-evolving insectoid Zerg, the powerful and enigmatic Protoss, and the godlike Xel'Naga creator race—in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy known as the Koprulu Sector. The series debuted with the video game StarCraft in 1998. It has grown to include a number of other games as well as eight novelizations, two Amazing Stories articles, a board game, and other licensed merchandise such as collectible statues and toys.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released worldwide in July 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. A sequel to the 1998 video game StarCraft and the Brood War expansion pack, the game is best known as the original installment of StarCraft II which was later followed by a number of expansion packs. Wings of Liberty has been free-to-play since November 2017.
StarCraft II is a military science fiction video game created by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the successful StarCraft video game released in 1998. Set in a fictional future, the game centers on a galactic struggle for dominance among the various fictional races of StarCraft.