Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced five official European launch events for the forthcoming release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the long anticipated sequel to 1998's critically acclaimed StarCraft. At midnight on July 26/27, key retail partners in France, Germany, Russia, Sweden and the UK will open their doors to players who want to be the first to purchase and play the new chapter in Blizzard's epic saga.
Here in UK the launch event will take place at:
GAME
100 Oxford Street
London, W1D 1LL
Doors will open at 11:00pm on the night of July 26/27. As well as being among the first to acquire the game, attendees will have an opportunity to meet with a member of the StarCraft II development team who will be present to welcome players and sign their copies.
Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase the standard edition of the game, as well as the special Collector's Edition which contains the following bonus items in addition to the game disc:
The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game, An exclusive 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor's dog tag, which comes preloaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War expansion set. A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, cinematics with director's commentary, and more. The official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks. StarCraft comic book issue #0, a prequel to the comic series. A World of Warcraft mini Thor in-game pet that can be applied to all World of Warcraft characters on a single Battle.net account. Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game, and a visually unique version of the terran Thor unit
Similar launch events will be held internationally for players in other regions. Details on the specific locations and a full list of activities, competitions and giveaways for each of these events can be found at
http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/events/starcraft2-midnight-openings.html.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment's 1998 blockbuster hit StarCraft. Selling more than 11 million copies globally, the game has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time and has become an established title on the professional eSports circuit. StarCraft II will once again center on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying favorite units from the original StarCraft, along with numerous upgraded and brand-new units and abilities that allow for fresh tactics and strategies. The game's new 3D-graphics engine maintains the speed and responsive control of its predecessor while rendering hundreds of units onscreen for massive battles.
Several challenge-mode mini-games will also be included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies. In addition, dozens of multiplayer maps will be available for competitive play through the new version of Battle.net, which is launching alongside StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. This new version of the service has been built from the ground up to offer an unparalleled online play experience, with new features such as voice communication, character profiles and achievements, stat-tracking, ladders and leagues, cloud file storage, and more.
For more information on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, visit the official website at eu.starcraft2.com.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. ( a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes eleven #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements
that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," "future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment's products, competition from the used game market, industry
competition and competition from other forms of entertainment, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as real-time strategy, action-role-playing and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers who can create high quality "hit" titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the
identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon
information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.