The rumors are true: Blizzard’s classic RTS StarCraft will be getting an official remastered version.
In a new press release, Blizzard announced that the beloved decades-old RTS will be making its return in StarCraft: Remastered, delivering the same classic gameplay and story while bringing the game’s graphics and audio quality into the 21st century with major overhauls. Check out the hype trailer below:
StarCraft: Remastered is set to release this summer, nearly 20 full years after the original StarCraft released in 1998 to near-universal acclaim and praise. Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard entertainment, had this to say on the legacy of StarCraft:
StarCraft is a pure distillation of Blizzard’s DNA—its story, its balance, and all the little details reflect our long-running commitment to epic entertainment, and it’s been a staple in competitive gaming and esports for almost 20 years.
With StarCraft: Remastered, we’re modernizing the original game’s visuals, audio, and online support to ensure that players can enjoy StarCraft for another 20 years and beyond.
StarCraft: Remastered will offer updated graphics at 4k UHD, allowing players to “zoom out for a Battlecruiser’s view of the battlefield, or zoom in to see the veins on a Mutalisk’s wings.” The remaster also promises updated audio, with the original soundtrack and dialogue returning in a “re-recorded and rejuvenated” way, as well as new comic-book-style interludes added to the campaign to touch up those old between-mission briefings from the original.
Other new updates in StarCraft: Remastered include new advanced matchmaking, full connectivity to Blizzard’s gaming network for social features and updates, cloud saving for campaign progress, custom maps, replays, and keybinds, support for eight new languages in addition to the original five, and more. The core gameplay, though, has been untouched, and should feel very familiar to players of the original.
Fans can learn more at StarCraft.com, as well as share their own StarCraft memories on Twitter using the hashtag #MyStarCraftStory.