Blizzard Brings Back ‘StarCraft’ In Remastered 4K For The PC, Mac OS

Blizzard Entertainment brings back the title that really started eSports, StarCraft, this time in glorious 4K resolution.

It looks like the rumors that Inquisitr covered last year pertaining to the return of StarCraft as an HD remaster are true. StarCraft, the classic real-time strategy game created by Blizzard Entertainment in 1998, is now getting an awesome remaster, complete with its original gameplay, multiplayer, and expansion campaigns.

Polygon confirms that the StarCraft HD remaster, which will be entitled StarCraft: Remastered, was announced by Blizzard president Mike Morhaime at the I <3 StarCraft event in Seoul, Korea, today. Interestingly, the original StarCraft was released March of 1998. The announcement of the StarCraft: Remastered, alongside a teaser trailer, is a great way to celebrate the game’s 19th anniversary.

4K and UHD has become the standard of newer games of this generation, both in home consoles and gaming PCs. And Blizzard is making sure they stay current and up to date in the market as they bring back one of the classics in the gaming industry into a standard on par with the newer ones.

Morhaime says in a press release via Worth Playing what the StarCraft: Remastered wants to achieve.

“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.”

Here’s a quick look at the original standard definition of StarCraft beside the HD remaster.

Blizzard Entertainment proudly talks about the key features of StarCraft: Remastered over at the StarCraft landing page.

• 4K Ultra HD Graphics and Upgraded Audio: StarCraft: Remastered will include high-resolution unit models, buildings, doodads, and tilesets, as well as high-fidelity music and sound effects to bring the original game into the modern era, while retaining the classic StarCraft style.
• Same Timeless Gameplay: The gameplay balance and idiosyncrasies have been painstakingly preserved from the original game. Mutalisk stacking, magic-boxing, unit pathfinding, control-group limitations, and more will all remain intact, allowing veteran players to enjoy playing and watching high-level competitive matches as before.
• Includes Original and Expansion Campaigns: Return to the planetary battlefields of the war-torn Koprulu Sector and command the forces of the terran, zerg, and protoss across more than 50 story-driven single-player missions.
• Fall in Love Again: Relive the epic saga of some of gaming’s most memorable and beloved heroes and villains, including Marshal Jim Raynor, Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan, and Praetor Fenix.
• Enhanced Storytelling: Original cinematics will be improved to 1080p resolution, while mission interludes and introductions will feature new comic-book style illustrations.
• Blizzard’s Gaming Network Brings a Bevy of Features: In addition to accurate matchmaking and enhanced ladder functionality, players will also be able to stay in touch with and chat with friends playing other Blizzard games. The classic functionality of named custom games and custom game lobbies will be retained, for the familiarity of long-time StarCraft players.
• Localized in 13 Languages: English, German, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish (LatAm), Spanish (European), Polish, Italian, Russian, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese.

And in addition to the brand new graphics and revamped audio, Pete Stilwell, senior producer of classic games at Blizzard Entertainment, tells Yahoo eSports that they will also release the StarCraftAnthology as a free download for those who are getting StarCraft: Remastered in the coming months. The StarCraft Anthology contains the original StarCraft game (for those who have yet to try the original 1998 version) and the StarCraft: Brood War expansions pack.

Excited yet? You don’t have to wait for too long. US Gamer has confirmed that Blizzard is releasing StarCraft: Remastered this summer to the PC and Mac OS. A price for the remaster, however, has yet been set.

[Featured Image by Blizzard Entertainment]