Starcraft II jettisons LAN support
Blizzard confirms anticipated sci-fi RTS will skip local multiplayer due to piracy, quality concerns.
As part of Activision Blizzard's pre-2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo tele-press conference, Blizzard Entertainment executive Michael Morhaime confirmed what many had suspected: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is expected to launch for the PC alongside the newly redesigned Battle.net online networking service before the end of the year. However, when Starcraft II does see release, it will do so without a hallmark of the real-time strategy genre: a local area network multiplayer option.
Blizzard today confirmed for GameSpot that LAN functionality will be absent from Starcraft II's multiplayer component, as both a piracy prevention mechanism and a quality-assurance initiative.
"We don't currently plan to support LAN play with Starcraft II, as we are building Battle.net to be the ideal destination for multiplayer gaming with Starcraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games," a Blizzard representative said in a statement. "While this was a difficult decision for us, we felt that moving away from LAN play and directing players to our upgraded Battle.net service was the best option to ensure a quality multiplayer experience with Starcraft II and safeguard against piracy."
"Several Battle.net features like advanced communication options, achievements, stat-tracking, and more, require players to be connected to the service, so we're encouraging everyone to use Battle.net as much as possible to get the most out of Starcraft II," the statement continued. "We're looking forward to sharing more details about Battle.net and online functionality for Starcraft II in the near future."
Speaking with GameSpot during BlizzCon 2008, Blizzard Entertainment cofounder Frank Pearce noted that piracy was a concern for the developer and that Battle.net would play a role in helping to counteract theft of the game.
"We're definitely talking about ways with Battle.net that we can provide the best online experience for our customers so that there's not an incentive to pirate the product but instead an incentive to be part of that community of gamers playing that game and they'd want to be part of that social experience on top of the single-player experience," he said.
Blizzard expects to begin closed beta for Starcraft II sometime this summer and is currently taking sign-ups for the testing phase through the official Battle.net Web site. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Starcraft II.
Content you might like…
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Video Q&A: Sony explains PSP adhocParty
Kristin Neirinckx discusses how PSP owners can use their PS3s to play multiplayer non-infrastructure games over the Web. Full Story
- Posted Nov 19, 2009 4:49 pm PT
- 49 Comments
-
Activision CEO makes another $18 million
Bobby Kotick continues cashing out soon-to-expire stock options, bringing one-week windfall to nearly $42 million; CFO Thomas Tippl nets 40 percent raise. Full Story
- Posted Nov 18, 2009 11:50 am PT
- 184 Comments
Featured Stories
-
3D PS3 gaming coming via firmware update in 2010
[UPDATE] Japanese electronics giant says all consoles will benefit from stereoscopic depth-of-field technology after downloadable patch. Full Story
- Posted Nov 19, 2009 3:02 pm PT
- 431 Comments
-
Zelda 'surprise' planned for E3 2010
Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma says developer has been "trying something new" with the structure of Link's upcoming Wii installment, due next year. Full Story
- Posted Nov 18, 2009 5:00 pm PT
- 459 Comments
-
GameStop Q3 profits hit $52 million, Modern Warfare 2 sets record
World's largest specialty retailer says Infinity Ward's shooter sold 2.5M units in 72 hours at its stores; quarterly earnings hit $1.8 billion. Full Story
- Posted Nov 19, 2009 10:45 am PT
- 115 Comments
-
Ace Attorney trio filing onto WiiWare
Capcom porting original Phoenix Wright courtroom drama to Nintendo's console beginning in January for $10; Justice for All in March, Trials and Tribulations in May. Full Story
- Posted Nov 18, 2009 5:39 pm PT
- 49 Comments
-
Modern Warfare 2 five-day sales hit $550 million
[UPDATE] Activision claims Infinity Ward's latest shooter breaks host of 24-, 120-hour entertainment records spanning games, movies, books; LA Times pegs budget at $200 million including marketing and distribution. Full Story
- Posted Nov 18, 2009 10:41 am PT
- 336 Comments





NightmareCV posted Jul 6, 2009 10:30 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)
WindsweptSpy posted Jul 6, 2009 7:36 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)
Epicurus-Reborn posted Jul 4, 2009 3:10 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)
Mephistroth posted Jul 4, 2009 2:40 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)
kyle2k5 posted Jul 4, 2009 1:58 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)