Advertisement

StarCraft 2 free for WoW players in Korea, loses 18+ rating

Blizzard is tweaking the business model for its upcoming StarCraft 2 release in Korea. IGN reports that the RTS will be free for Korean subscribers to World of Warcraft there, as Blizzard reportedly wants to bolster the MMO's player base overseas. Other players will be able to buy the game outright for the US equivalent of about $54, or pick up $8 monthly or even $1.60 daily passes for the game, so Blizzard will still make a googoojillion dollars on the long-awaited sequel in Korea. No word on if these plans will make their way to North America, but we'd bet against it. WoW itself has had different pay models overseas for a while, but just the usual monthly price here in the US.

That money can also come from children as young as age 12 -- after the game was originally rated for adults only, an edited version of the game has brought the rating back down to a 12+ age rating. The edit changes Zerg and Terran blood to black from red, and removes all profanity and smoking from the game. Blizzard is reportedly still thinking about releasing the "mature" version in Korea separately, although it'll be after next month's worldwide release.%Gallery-3311%