StarCraft 2 development/updates are done.

And with this update, StarCraft 2 is in maintenance mode:

https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/starcraft2/23544726/starcraft-ii-update-october-15-2020

There will be no more content patches including coop content or WarChests (the battle-pass equivalent that was used to fund esports). Despite this news, the pro scene is confirmed to have full support until the end of 2022, as ESL owns the rights and have a 3 year contract (and we are currently in the 1st year).

Obviously StarCraft 2 has an incredible legacy, being the game that popularized esports outside of Korea/China. It is also the most popular RTS of all time. I know the community has gotten smaller over the years, but I love the game and I'm sure many of us at GB have fond memories of it.

Just wanted to ask - what are your favorite memories of StarCraft 2. I'll likely write a blog about it later this week. I love the game, and I am very sad support is ending :(

HEY! i just wrote a topic about sc! I loved watching scarlett and special come into their own overseas in korea. Maru's beautiful face comes to mind aswel

Its really sad. That said, Brood War has not had a patch in 20 years and it still has a competitive scene. The fact that we dont see a continuation of Starcraft II or even a Starcraft III is two-fold: Blizzard is no longer the company it used to be (with all the original talent long gone) and the RTS genre is not as popular anymore. People want easier and more laid-back games like MOBA:s. I just hope someone comes along and starts producing new and AAA RTS games again.

SCII is one of my favorite games of all time - especially the first campaign. It was one of my most anticipated releases ever, and the only game I ever lined up for at a midnight launch. And it lived up to the hype!

I played a lot of multiplayer in the beginning, when people were bad at the game and I could just 4gate my way to victory, and I had a lot of fun with that. But it's rather stressful to keep up with and my interest in multiplayer died off pretty quick. However, I've played through the campaign a number of times. I really love everything about the Terran campaign - the story, the gameplay, and the general atmosphere. The story went completely off the rails in the second two campaigns and all of them were dumb as rocks, revolving around magic crystals and prophecies and seeming like a low-rent Final Fantasy compared to SC1's memorable tale of political intrigue, but they're still fun as hell to play.

My favorite memory of StarCraft was when I missed my flight home and got stuck overnight at an airport in Calgary. I was completely exhausted and the idea of getting some sleep on a bench somewhere was hopeless with all the noise. So I pulled out my laptop and played a lot of SCII - melee matches vs. AI. It distracted me from the stress and made me feel more at home.

I wonder if we ever see another full on Starcraft property ever again. Obviously Blizzard loves make their Overwatch Nova skins and Terran Carrier Diablo pets but I wonder if they even take a step towards make a full-on Starcraft 3. That would kinda seem like the next logical move but with how HotS ended up, how much that Warcraft remaster got bashed, and how much Overwatch has in some ways succeeded I think it's kinda up in the air whether or not we even see another new RTS out of Blizzard. Maybe Activision manhandles Blizzard's game rights and contracts the next Sledgehammer Call of Duty to be set in the Starcraft universe.

My favorite memories are when I was unemployed for 3 months and got way into the GSL. I'd prep to watch finals in the middle of the night, following Tastosis, Huk, Idra, Incontrol, all those folks. It was super exciting and a fun niche community to be a part of. I've fallen off since then but still watch some random games on Youtube now and then.

Oh, and playing the game is always fun, too! I only play a week or so each year (usually just against AI) and the game's evergreen.

I'd still love to see a big Starcraft adventure in a new genre get made at some point, but Blizzard is a much different company now.

Campaign mission "Outbreak" is still an RTS high-point for me. Not saying it was the first horde-mode level in RTS and I'm sure there are other influences but to me there is a direct line to They Are Billions.

@theromanticpast:I really think this is a big take away here. Like obviously sc2 isn't the huge money-maker it once was, but it's still a really active and popular game. Can't help but think that the Blizzard of old would not have taken this approach.

@csl316: I remember staying up all night in highschool to watch GSL, and then continuing to watch on my phone in first period physics. I love that tournament so much.

Starcraft II was the game that made me build a PC. In fact, i spent like a year beforehand watching GSL & Day9 dailies and really get into the whole Twitch.tv thing with tournaments and such right as it was born from the ashes of Justin.tv. The gomplayer also introduced me to a ton of K-pop.

That said, they let that broodlord / corruptor stuff in heart of the swarm go unchecked for too long and that made me check out this newfangled game named Dota 2.

Still the best thing related to Starcraft II.

I still watch GSL to this day (bought to watch Maru vs. Trap right now). Though I don't play ladder much anymore , and was never that good to begin with, I still play a few matches against AI a few times a month. Hope to atleast be able to watch a pro scene for the foreseeable future.

Side note, did they ever implement Google AlphaStar into the game? I would love to see how badly it could wipe the floor with me.

10 years? Wow, that makes me feel old. I haven't followed the scene much lately but there was a time when all I did was eat, sleep, and breath Starcraft. I even studied abroad in Seoul because of Starcraft. I have fond memories of waking up at 4am to watch European tournaments, I got private lessons with Apollo, and got to meet IdrA many years after he retired at my university.

Join us Brood War fans watching the ASL.

Brood War is having a resurgance at the moment, and it is AMAZING.

Seeing this an thinking about RTS lately and being nostalgic for it has made me download the free campaign for SC II, as I've never played it but heard it raved about. 2020!

sOs for life

That's definitely true. I hope Mike Morhaime's Dreamhaven along with the blizzard employees that he poached can crack the case on reviving the RTS scene. It's tricky though. I feel like the games with legs that can sustain themselves are either mmo's, deck building games, or some sort of hero games where new heroes can be released on a regular basis which is where MOBA falls into. But idk how you can release a new faction in a RTS on a regular basis at a more affordable price (compared to the work needed for a new "hero") without spending a tremendous amount of time re-balancing.

@sombre: I've fallen asleep to some Artosis brood war streams lately. Also noticed that Scarlett was suddenly playing Brood War!

@onemanarmyy: The two of them actually had a mini tournament awhile back, archived on the Artosis Youtube channel. It was super fun, along with Tasteless vs. Catz on that channel.

After ten years away, FlaSh came back and won 3 ASL's back to back to back.

Now he's playing random, and he's made it to RO4

Starcraft was a huge part of my gaming childhood, I still remember the very day when friend and I discovered it first time in 1998. We spend hours talking about it.

It quickly became my GoT before GoT. Story and characters were amazing. There was a real impact in the story that was being told, story of betrayal, sacrifice and revenge.

When they announced Starcraft 2 12 years later, the same friend and I were out of our minds. We preordered and waited for a launch with bunch of other people.

Wings of Liberty was and is amazing as a first chapter in Starcraft 2 story but the story falls short in later expansions. Don't get me wrong I still love it to death but it's not original Starcraft.

This thread might make me play it all over again I guess. Hell, it's about time.

@sombre:Honestly the Flash ASL story is incredible. Prolly the most talented gamer of all time.

@ulfhedinn: The story definitely diverted from intrigue to a B movie action plot. Definitely a very different thing, but stupid in a fun way.

FlaSh is the greatest gamer of all time. Nobody else comes close

StarCraft II was huge in my dorm Freshman and Sophomore year in college. Lots of memories of long games amongst friends. We were all at the fairly same skill level too which was awesome. Lots of love for SC II.