Legacy of the Void

Did You Know?

• Legacy of the Void sold more than 1 million copies worldwide within its first 24 hours of being on sale.
• At BlizzCon 2015, Blizzard announced post-release content including co-op missions, a ladder revamp, and separate race matchmaking rating.
• The first episodic installment of the Nova Covert Ops mission pack was released in March 2016.

Plot

Before the events of Wings of Liberty, Zeratul seeks the final piece of the Xel'Naga prophecy, requiring him to find the place of Amon's resurrection. He travels to a Terran installation where Praetor Talis, one of Artanis' commanders, explains that Protoss are being captured and experimented upon by Terrans. Zeratul encounters Kerrigan and her Swarm, who also seek to destroy the facility, and races her to free the captured Protoss and obtain the location of Amon's resurrection. Afterward, Zeratul and Talis go to the planet Atrias, where a Xel'Naga Temple is located. Zeratul fights through Tal'Darim Protoss led by Highlord Ma'lash, destroys the Void Catalyst, and is contacted by Tassadar in spirit form, who instructs him to find the Keystone. Amon collapses the temple, and Talis sacrifices herself to allow Zeratul to escape. Zeratul then sets off to warn Artanis.

Development

StarCraft II was announced on May 19, 2007, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea. In June 2008, Blizzard Executive Vice President Rob Pardo stated the game would be released as a trilogy, with Legacy of the Void devoted to the Protoss. Little development had gone into Legacy of the Void as of 2008. Work on its story, scripts, and missions began by March 2013, as Heart of the Swarm neared release.

Game director Dustin Browder expressed a desire to reduce time between expansions, noting that efficient development was not a traditional strength. By February 2013, James Waugh served as lead writer. By August 2013, the story was written, much of the cinematics were completed, and voice actors were recording dialogue. In November 2013, Browder was satisfied with the story but felt missions and campaign mechanics needed more work to feel like Protoss missions.

In November 2014, Blizzard announced the expansion would be stand-alone, not requiring the original game, and revealed new cooperative modes Archon Mode and Allied Commander, along with new units and redesigns. Beta testing ran from March 31, 2015, to November 2, 2015. The release date was announced as November 10, 2015, on September 13, 2015. A prologue titled Whispers of Oblivion, consisting of three missions, was announced on June 16, 2015, at E3, available to pre-purchasers and later to all players after the October 6, 2015 update.

Professional competition

Professional StarCraft II competition was in decline before Legacy of the Void's release. After its release, the StarCraft II World Championship Series changed from a league format to a circuit format, though Korea remained league-focused. These changes did not stop declining viewership during the first two years. The introduction of the War Chest in 2017 as a crowdfunding tool and the transition of multiplayer to a free-to-play model in late 2017 led to increased player base and viewership. On January 7, 2020, Blizzard announced the retirement of the World Championship Series format, transitioning professional competition to the ESL Pro Tour for three years with Blizzard's financial backing.