Blizzard Delaying StarCraft II to 2010

After numerous rampant speculations, Blizzard finally confirms that StarCraft II won't be released in 2009 after all. Instead, they are now targeting the first-half of 2010. Thus, fans of the highly anticipated sequel would have to wait a little bit longer to get their hands on the game.

Blizzard is primarily a PC developer. Founded in 1991, the award-winning developer is recognized for three big franchises: WarCraft, Diablo and StarCraft. They are known best for delivering one excellent game after another throughout the years. Furthermore, Blizzard is also a leader in the growth of online gaming with classic titles like StarCraft, Diablo II and World of WarCraft. Along with Valve, Blizzard is considered to be one of the best PC developers in the gaming industry.

One of the few minor flaws from Blizzard is their long development times. This is especially true with sequels. For example, four years past before Diablo got a sequel and more for the third game. Fans would have to wait even longer for StarCraft II.

The original StarCraft was released in 1998. Development for the PC title started in 1995. StarCraft was regularly delayed as Blizzard try to polish their game as much as possible. Eventually, StarCraft would be released and became one of the most popular games ever.

Despite the big financial success, a true sequel was a long ways away. In the middle of 2007, Blizzard finally revealed StarCraft II to the public for the first time. As expected, the news made shockwaves throughout the gaming industry. Just like its prequel, however, StarCraft II is running into numerous hurdles during development.

Blizzard started working on StarCraft II in 2003. However, it was put on hold early on so that Blizzard could finish work on World of WarCraft, which was a massive undertaking. Even though work has resumed on the sequel, Blizzard decided to split the release into three chapters: Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. This is done so that StarCraft II can be released as quickly as possible.

Although no release date has ever been announced, many assume that the target date would have been in late 2009. However, that became highly unlikely as even the promised beta for the upcoming PC games hasn't even begun yet.

Blizzard has now official confirmed that the first chapter of StarCraft II, Wings of Liberty, will be released sometime during the first-half of 2010. Hopefully, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void would follow soon afterwards. While the wait is excruciating, Blizzard-developed always ended up being worth the long delays.