StarCraft HD is reported to be in the works

A story published by Korea's iNews24 and helpfully translated by Kotaku says Blizzard will reveal an HD update of the great sci-fi RTS StarCraft in September. 

The word comes from “multiple sources with knowledge of Blizzard internal plans” (or, as Google Translate puts it, “the plurality of source familiar with the internal news Blizzard”) who say the HD remake will offer the same gameplay as the original release, but will boast updated graphics and an improved interface. Details will be revealed in November at BlizzCon, according to the report, but the initial announcement is a good fit for next month because it will presumably coincide with the final StarCraft 2 World Championship Series Circuit Event for 2016.

It's pretty thin, as rumors so often are, but it does dovetail rather nicely with the news from late last year that Blizzard was looking for a senior software engineer to work on its “classic games.” StarCraft is now 18 years old (and StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty is hardly a newcomer either), yet the franchise remains immensely popular. An HD remake, especially now that esports are a wee little bit more popular than they were when StarCraft was new, makes a lot of sense. 

Unfortunately, Blizzard is keeping mum for now: In response to my inquiries, a rep said only, “We don't have any announcements to make at this time.”

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.