StarCraft II

Lore & Background

The story of StarCraft II continues from the original StarCraft releases. Wings of Liberty is set four years after StarCraft: Brood War and focuses on Jim Raynor's rebel faction against the Terran Dominion emperor Arcturus Mengsk, with the Zerg appearing as a frequent menace. Raynor ultimately recovers the incapacitated Zerg queen Sarah Kerrigan from the Zerg home world. In Heart of the Swarm, the Dominion attacks Raynor and Kerrigan, and the story follows Kerrigan's exploits against Mengsk's forces and the newly emerged Protoss-Zerg hybrids. Legacy of the Void features the Protoss as protagonists, led by Zeratul and Artanis, fighting the malevolent being Amon, architect of the hybrids. A short epilogue sees all three factions join to confront Amon inside the Void. Nova Covert Ops takes place after Amon's defeat, following ghost operative Nova as she uncovers a conspiracy threatening the reformed Terran Dominion.

Reader's Guide

StarCraft II is significant as a major real-time strategy title that continued the legacy of the original StarCraft, which had a profound impact on esports. The game's release in 2010 was highly anticipated, and it sold 1.8 million copies within the first forty-eight hours, breaking the record for best-selling strategy game. By the end of 2012, Wings of Liberty had sold more than 6 million copies. The expansions Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void also sold well, with Heart of the Swarm selling 1.1 million copies in its first two days and Legacy of the Void selling over 1 million copies worldwide within its initial period. The game's multiplayer mode fostered a separate esports competition that drew interest from companies beyond Blizzard and gained attention in South Korea and elsewhere. Since 2017, the multiplayer mode, co-op mode, and the first single-player campaign have been free-to-play, broadening access. The soundtrack, composed by Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Neal Acree, and Russell Brower, was recorded with the San Francisco Symphony and Opera and other musicians, contributing to the game's cinematic feel.

Did You Know?

• StarCraft II was announced on May 19, 2007, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea.
• The soundtrack for Wings of Liberty was performed by 78 members of the San Francisco Symphony and Opera, recorded at the Skywalker stage at Lucasfilm Ranch.
• Wings of Liberty sold 1.8 million copies within the first forty-eight hours of release, breaking the record for best-selling strategy game.
• The game was originally envisioned as a single game but was split into three parts during development, one for each race.