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StarCraft II Arcade now free to play
Good news for Blizzard fans looking for more games to play -- the StarCraft II Arcade is now completely free. StarCraft II is not only well known for the game and tournament play, but also for its creative community. The game comes with a map editor that allows you to customize and craft your own creations, using Blizzard art assets and maps to put together whatever game your creative mind happens to dream up. These creations are all available as part of the StarCraft II Arcade, a massive index of player-created games. So what's in the Arcade? Everything from custom maps and missions to StarCraft-themed versions of popular games like Bejeweled and Pictionary. Full access to all games in the Arcade was previously limited only to those who purchased StarCraft II. With the launch of patch 2.1, all games in the Arcade have now been made available to anyone with a Battle.net account -- even games that previously required the Heart of the Swarm. To access the Arcade, simply download and install the free trial version of StarCraft II, no purchase necessary.
Blizzard offers deep discounts on World of Warcraft, StarCraft II
There's no need to wait until Black Friday if you were hoping to get a good deal on World of Warcraft or StarCraft II; Blizzard is currently offering both titles and their expansions at a deep discount. New players to WoW can grab the base game, with all expansions up until Mists of Pandaria, for only $4.99. To add MoP to the mix, plunk down another $9.99 for the standard edition or $29.99 for the digital deluxe edition (a savings of $30.00 on each). StarCraft II fans can save twenty bucks and scoop up Wings of Liberty for $19.99 and/or Heart of the Swarm for $19.99 or $39.99 (standard and deluxe editions, respectively). For those who already have the games but want to get friends involved, there is also an option to gift the purchase. However, to take advantage of the deals you might want to act fast -- there's no guarantee that the sale will last.
Age of Conan composer joins PlanetSide 2 and Starcraft II nominees for music award
Say what you will about the rest of the game, there's little argument that Age of Conan has impressive music. And now, soundtrack composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen joins the list of nominees for the Best Score in a Video Game at the 2013 Hollywood Music in Media Awards. His nomination comes for his work heard in AoC's latest content update, Dragon's Spine, which can be heard in the trailer. Other nominees include Jeff Broadbent (Planetside 2) and Russel Bower, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, and Neal Acree (Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm), nominated in January and March, respectively. The winner for best score will be selected at the HMMA ceremony at Hollywood's Fonda Theatre November 21st. Interested in listening to these impressive soundtracks for yourself? You'll find selections for both AoC and PS2 (and many more) in our own Jukebox Heroes feature.
Mike Morhaime talks about eSports, pro-gaming
If for some reason you didn't recognize this year's Battle.net World Championship as a move towards cementing Blizzard's role in the pro-gaming world, Mike Morhaime is making the subtext into text. Clearly, with the release of Starcraft II's Heart of the Swarm expansion coming on in March 2013, Mister Morhaime's been thinking about how eSports are going to evolve, and whether or not there's a role for them in the US market. There's a lot of room for improvement in that area. It's really going to take mainstream news publications to start treating eSports like sports, and when events like this happen, report on them. Give them the recognition that they deserve. These guys are very good, and I think that the people that follow eSports recognize them as at the same level as pro athletes, but I think the mainstream press really needs to start covering it that way as well. So to take a look at Mike's thoughts about how piracy affected Warcraft, how Starcraft II functions as an eSport, about what he calls 'so-called free to play games', about the lack of respect for pro gamers and a lot more, head on over to Forbes and read what the man has to say. Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Mists of Pandaria opening cinematic will premiere at Gamescom 2012
Folks attending Gamescom 2012 in Cologne, Germany, will be the first to feast their eyes on the opening cinematic for World of Warcraft's next expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Blizzard will also be showcasing the game itself as well as Diablo III and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Players can check out the games and also meet members of the development team. If you happen to be at the convention, be sure to check out the company's booth in Halle 6.1 (B21) at the Koelnmesse.
