StarCraft is a science fiction game series created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series takes place in the 26th century and follows a battle for control among four species: the flexible Terrans, the changing Zerg, the strong Protoss, and the powerful Xel'Naga. These species fight in a part of the Milky Way galaxy called the Koprulu Sector. The first StarCraft game was released in 1998. Over time, the series added more games, eight books, two magazine stories, a board game, and other items like statues and toys.
Blizzard started planning StarCraft in 1995 with Metzen and Phinney leading the team. The game was shown at an event in 1996 and used a version of the Warcraft II game engine. StarCraft also helped Blizzard create a film department, as the game included high-quality movie-like scenes that helped tell the story. Many of the original developers returned to make the Brood War expansion, which began soon after StarCraft was released. In 2001, Blizzard started working on StarCraft: Ghost with another company. Unlike earlier games in the series, Ghost was a stealth-action game. However, development was paused in 2004. In 2003, Blizzard began making a new real-time strategy game, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. It was announced in 2007 and released in 2010. Later, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm came out in 2013, and the final part, Legacy of the Void, was released in 2015. In 2016, a new mission pack called Nova Covert Ops was added as downloadable content.
The original game and its expansion were praised as some of the best real-time strategy games of their time. The series has many fans worldwide, especially in South Korea, where players compete in matches, get sponsorships, and play on television. By 2007, StarCraft and Brood War had sold nearly 10 million copies together. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and its sequels also received praise and sold well. By 2017, the StarCraft series had earned over $1 billion in total revenue. The series was honored with a star on the Walk of Game in 2006 and holds four Guinness World Records from 2008.
In 2017, Blizzard announced StarCraft: Remastered, a version of the original game with updated graphics and improved audio. As of 2017, the original StarCraft, its Brood War expansion, and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty are available for free on Blizzard’s website.
Story
The story follows the actions of three species in a region of the Milky Way called the Koprulu Sector. Long before the events of the games, a species called the Xel'Naga genetically altered the Protoss and later the Zerg to create perfect beings. These experiments failed, and the Xel'Naga were mostly destroyed by the Zerg. Centuries before the start of StarCraft in 2499, Earth's strict global government, the United Earth Directorate (UED), started a colonization program to solve overpopulation. On the journey, the computers controlling the colony ships malfunctioned, sending the Terran colonists far off course to the edge of Protoss space. Cut off from Earth, the Terrans formed different groups to manage their needs. The Protoss, curious about the Terrans' behavior, stayed hidden to study them and protect them from dangers without the Terrans knowing. The Zerg, however, aimed to absorb the Terrans to use their mental energy, forcing the Protoss to destroy infected Terran colonies to stop the Zerg spread.
StarCraft begins shortly after the first Zerg attack, when the main Terran government, the Terran Confederacy, becomes panicked as it is attacked by the Zerg, the Protoss, and rebels led by Arcturus Mengsk. The Confederacy collapses when Mengsk's rebels use Confederate technology to lure the Zerg into attacking the Confederate capital, Tarsonis. In the power vacuum that follows, Mengsk declares himself emperor of a new Terran Dominion. During the assault on Tarsonis, Mengsk allows the Zerg to capture and infect his psionic second-in-command, Sarah Kerrigan. This betrayal causes Mengsk's other commander, Jim Raynor, to leave him with a small army. After retreating with Kerrigan to their main hive clusters, the Zerg are attacked by Protoss forces led by Tassadar and the dark templar Zeratul. By killing a Zerg cerebrate, Zeratul accidentally reveals the location of the Protoss homeworld, Aiur. The Overmind quickly invades Aiur to assimilate the Protoss and gain genetic perfection. Pursued by his own people for helping Zeratul, Tassadar returns to Aiur and, with the help of Raynor and the templar Fenix, attacks the Overmind and sacrifices himself to kill it.
In Brood War, the Protoss are led by Zeratul and Artanis. They begin moving the surviving Protoss from Aiur to the dark templar homeworld of Shakuras under a weak agreement between the two distrustful Protoss groups. On Shakuras, they are tricked by Kerrigan into attacking the Zerg to help her gain control over the Zerg. This happens after she reveals a new Overmind is being created. Meanwhile, Earth sends a fleet to conquer the Terran Dominion and capture the new Overmind. Although the UED successfully takes the Dominion capital, Korhal, and enslaves the Overmind, their attempt to capture Mengsk fails because of a spy working for Kerrigan, Samir Duran. Kerrigan, now allied with Mengsk, Fenix, and Raynor, attacks the UED, recapturing Korhal. She later turns against her allies, with Fenix and Duke dying in the attacks. Kerrigan forces Zeratul to kill the new Overmind, giving her full control over the Zerg Swarm. After defeating a joint attack by the Protoss, Dominion, and UED (which destroys the last of the UED fleet), Kerrigan and the Zerg become the dominant force in the sector. However, Zeratul secretly discovers Duran's plan to create Protoss-Zerg hybrids and learns Duran serves a "greater power" than Kerrigan.
Four years later, in Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan and the Zerg disappear from the Koprulu Sector, allowing the Protoss to stay out of the conflict. Meanwhile, Raynor starts a group called Raynor's Raiders to overthrow Mengsk. On Mar Sara, Raynor frees the local population from Dominion control and finds a piece of a mysterious Xel'Naga artifact. The Zerg attack Mar Sara, forcing Raynor to evacuate to his ship, the Hyperion. The Raiders complete missions to weaken Mengsk, stop Zerg invasions, gather psychic individuals, and collect the remaining pieces of the Xel'Naga artifact, which they sell to the Moebius Foundation to fund their revolution. Later, Zeratul gives Raynor a psychic crystal that shows a vision of a dark prophecy: Zerg-Protoss hybrids and a enslaved Zerg swarm will destroy the Terrans and Protoss. The vision reveals only Kerrigan can stop this. After collecting all the artifact pieces, Raynor allies with Valerian Mengsk, Arcturus' son, who secretly supports them through the Moebius Foundation. Together, they invade the Zerg world of Char and use the artifact to restore Kerrigan's humanity, weakening the Zerg at the cost of much of the Dominion fleet. An agent of Arcturus tries to kill Kerrigan, but Raynor protects her and takes her for medical care.
In Heart of the Swarm, the Dominion finds where Raynor and Kerrigan are hiding and attacks them. Kerrigan escapes but is separated from Raynor. After learning Raynor was captured and executed, she returns to Zerg territory to reclaim control of the swarm and take revenge on Mengsk. During her journey, she meets Zeratul, who tells her to go to Zerus, the Zerg's original
Games
The StarCraft series includes a main set of games that follow the central story. These games were released in the order they were made, with each new game continuing the events from the previous one. A second main game, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, was released in 2010, set four years after the end of Brood War. Two expansions, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void (both now standalone games), were planned from the start. Heart of the Swarm was released in 2013, and Legacy of the Void was released in 2015.
All main series games are real-time strategy games, where players act as military commanders for three different alien species. Two spin-off games were also released. These are official expansions of the original game that focus on different characters and settings from the same time period as the main story. Like the main series, these spin-offs are also real-time strategy games. A spin-off called StarCraft: Ghost, which was meant to be a third-person action-stealth game, was planned but later canceled.
StarCraft, released for Windows on March 31, 1998, is the first game in the series. It is a science fiction real-time strategy game set in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy. A version for Mac OS was released by Blizzard Entertainment in March 1999. A Nintendo 64 version that included StarCraft, Brood War, and a secret mission called Resurrection IV was released in the United States on June 13, 2000.
The game’s story follows the arrival of two alien races in Terran space and their efforts to survive and outlast each other. Players take on three roles across three campaigns: a Terran colonial governor who becomes a revolutionary leader, a Zerg leader pushing for the assimilation of other species, and a Protoss commander defending their people from the Zerg. StarCraft received high praise and won many awards, including being called "the best real-time strategy game ever made" and ranked among the top games of all time by IGN.
StarCraft: Brood War is the official expansion pack for StarCraft, developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Saffire. Released for Windows and Mac OS in the United States on December 18, 1998, it continues the story of StarCraft immediately after its ending. The expansion introduces seven new units, improved artificial intelligence, new graphics, and updated tools for creating game content. It received praise for fixing balance issues in the original game and for its strong, story-driven campaigns. In April 2017, StarCraft received its first update in over eight years, and Brood War was made free for PC and Mac.
A remastered version of the game, StarCraft: Remastered, was released on August 14, 2017. It keeps the original gameplay but adds support for ultra-high-definition graphics, modern online features, and re-recorded audio. In July 2019, Blizzard released StarCraft: Cartooned, a graphics update by Carbot Animations, which applies to all game modes in StarCraft: Remastered.
A fan-made version of the StarCraft and Brood War campaigns was released in 2011 as a mod for StarCraft II, called StarCraft: Mass Recall. It includes the original units, campaigns, and hidden missions but uses the StarCraft II engine, making the game more challenging than the original. It was completed in 2019 and has received minor updates since then.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the official sequel to StarCraft, released for Windows and Mac OS by Blizzard Entertainment on July 27, 2010. It was announced in 2007 with a cinematic trailer and gameplay demo. The game uses a new 3D graphics engine and includes features like the Havok physics engine and DirectX 10 effects. Originally planned as a single game, StarCraft II was split into three parts, each focusing on one of the three races. Wings of Liberty follows the Terrans, while Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void expand the story from the Zerg and Protoss perspectives.
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is an expansion pack to Wings of Liberty, released on March 12, 2013. It includes new units, multiplayer updates, and a campaign centered on Kerrigan and the Zerg. It contains 27 missions, including 20 main missions and 7 side missions.
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void completes the series, released on November 10, 2015. It is a standalone game that adds new units for all three races and changes the game’s economy system. The story follows the Protoss as they reclaim their homeworld and Kerrigan as she defeats the universe’s greatest threat. The game includes a 3-mission prologue, a 19-mission main campaign, and a 3-mission epilogue.
At BlizzCon 2015, Blizzard announced additional mission packs for StarCraft II, including Nova Covert Ops, which focuses on the character Nova. The pack includes nine new missions and does not require purchasing StarCraft II. It was released in March 2016. Blizzard also announced new co-op commanders for Legacy of the Void, with Karax being the first added for free.
The success of StarCraft led to two official add-on games and one failed attempt to create a game in a different genre. Insurrection, the first add-on, was released in 1998 and focuses on a new story involving the Terrans.
Development
Blizzard Entertainment started planning the game StarCraft in 1995, soon after beginning work on Diablo. Chris Metzen and James Phinney led the development team, who also designed the game's fictional world. StarCraft used the game engine from Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness as a foundation. The game was first shown at E3 1996. Its popularity led to the creation of two official add-ons, both released in 1998. However, critics did not give these add-ons high praise. StarCraft also marked the first time Blizzard Entertainment created cinematic scenes for a game. Before this, cinematic scenes were often seen as unimportant and unrelated to the game's story. With StarCraft and later Brood War, Blizzard introduced high-quality cinematic scenes that were important to the story, changing how these scenes were viewed in the gaming industry.
StarCraft's success inspired Microstar Software to create an unauthorized add-on called Stellar Forces in May 1998. Blizzard Entertainment sued Microstar for selling the add-on, arguing that it was not approved and used StarCraft's level editing software, which violated the end user license agreement.
In November 1998, Blizzard Entertainment won the court case against Microstar Software. As part of the settlement, Microstar agreed to pay an unknown amount in punitive damages, destroy all remaining copies of Stellar Forces, and formally apologize to Blizzard Entertainment.
After the first two add-ons were released, Blizzard Entertainment announced an official expansion pack for StarCraft called Brood War. Many members of the original StarCraft team returned to work on Brood War. Development for Brood War began shortly after StarCraft's release, and Blizzard Entertainment worked with members of Saffire, who helped with programming, level design, visuals, and audio effects.
In 2001, StarCraft: Ghost was developed by Nihilistic Software with the goal of releasing it for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube by late 2003. Unlike previous StarCraft games, Ghost was planned as a tactical third-person action game. While the press praised the decision to create a console game, delays occurred, and in the third quarter of 2004, Nihilistic Software stopped working on the project. Blizzard stated that Nihilistic Software had completed its assigned tasks and that the game would be released on time. The game was never released, but footage claimed to be from the game was shared online in 2021 before being removed at Blizzard's request.
StarCraft II was announced on May 19, 2007, nearly 10 years after the original, during the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea. StarCraft II was being developed under the code name Medusa for release on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X. Blizzard announced a release date of July 27, 2010. Development for the game began in 2003, shortly after Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne was released.
Music
The original StarCraft soundtrack was created by Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, and Tracey W. Bush. The StarCraft II soundtrack was created by Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Neal Acree, and Russell Brower.
Russell Brower, who is Blizzard's Director of Audio, explained that the music in StarCraft has two purposes. The music played during gameplay is designed to be quiet so players can focus, while the music in movie-like scenes can be more unique. Brower also noted that some musical themes in StarCraft II are connected to specific characters, a method used by composers like John Williams and Richard Wagner.
Brower stated that most of the music for the original StarCraft series was made using keyboards.
The original music for the Wings of Liberty soundtrack lasts about four hours. Brower mentioned in interviews that his team aimed to create a style similar to movie scores for StarCraft II. In a short comment for Blizzard, he described how the orchestral music for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was performed by 78 members of the San Francisco Symphony and Opera. This music was recorded at the Skywalker stage at the Lucasfilm Ranch in Marin County, California, under the name "Skywalker Symphony Orchestra," with Eímear Noone as the conductor. Brower also mentioned that a 32-voice choir was used in Seattle, Washington. Both recording sessions were mixed by John Kurlander, who had previously worked on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Beatles' Abbey Road.
The music for the Terran country and blues sections was recorded at Dreamland studio in Woodstock, New York, and performed by members of Peter Gabriel's band, including bassist Tony Levin and drummer Jerry Marotta. Other pieces were recorded at Blizzard studios and performed by musicians such as Laurence Juber (formerly of Wings) and Tommy Morgan. The soundtrack also includes the hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save (1860), composed by John Bacchus Dykes and William Whiting.
The orchestral music for Heart of the Swarm was also recorded in Marin County, again with Kurlander and Noone, and featured 80 performers from the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra.
In an interview in 2013, Brower said he planned to continue using musical themes connected to characters in Legacy of the Void.
Adaptations and other media
The StarCraft series has at least 12 books and an anthology published by Simon & Schuster, two short stories, and two graphic novels. In 2007, Chris Metzen, a creator of the game, said he wanted to write a complete book version of the StarCraft and Brood War stories. The first book, StarCraft: Uprising, was written by Micky Neilson, a Blizzard employee, and released as an e-book in December 2000. It tells the story of Sarah Kerrigan’s early life. The second book, StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade, was written by Jeff Grubb and published in March 2001. It is the first StarCraft book released in paperback and follows a journalist who meets important Terran characters in the game. StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga, published in July 2001, was written by Kevin Anderson under the name Gabriel Mesta. It connects the StarCraft and Brood War stories. Tracy Hickman, a fantasy writer, wrote StarCraft: Speed of Darkness, published in June 2002. This book is told from the perspective of a Confederate marine during the early stages of the game. In 2007, the first four books, including the e-book Uprising, were reprinted as a single collection called The StarCraft Archive.
A fifth book, StarCraft: Queen of Blades, was published in June 2006. It was written by Aaron S. Rosenberg and tells the story of the second StarCraft campaign from the perspective of Jim Raynor. In November 2006, StarCraft Ghost: Nova was released. It was written by Keith R.A. DeCandido and focuses on the early life of the character Nova, who was originally part of the canceled StarCraft: Ghost game. In 2007, Christie Golden, who had written books for Blizzard’s Warcraft series, wrote a trilogy called StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga. The trilogy connects StarCraft and its sequel, StarCraft II. The first book, Firstborn, was published in May 2007, the second, Shadow Hunters, in November 2007, and the third, Twilight, in June 2009. I, Mengsk, published in 2009, was written by Graham McNeill and focuses on the Mengsk family’s history. In 2010, Keith R.A. DeCandido and David Gerrold wrote StarCraft: Ghost Academy, which details Nova’s training as a spy. In September 2011, StarCraft Ghost: Spectres was published as a follow-up to Nova. Timothy Zahn wrote StarCraft: Evolution in 2016.
Blizzard also published two short stories in Amazing Stories magazine: StarCraft: Revelations and StarCraft: Hybrid. Revelations was written by Chris Metzen and Sam Moore, with artwork by Samwise Didier, and appeared on the cover of the 1999 spring edition. Hybrid was written by Micky Neilson and also featured artwork by Didier, and was published in the 2000 spring edition. At New York Comic-Con in 2008, TokyoPop announced two graphic novel series: StarCraft: Frontline, a collection of short stories in four volumes, and StarCraft: Ghost Academy, which follows characters like Nova during their training as "ghosts." A graphic novel titled StarCraft was released in 2010 by Wildstorm and DC Comics. It features outlaws working on a mission to kill Jim Raynor.
ToyCom produced action figures and statues based on StarCraft characters and units. Academy Hobby Model Kits made 1/30 scale models of a marine and a hydralisk. Blizzard also partnered with Fantasy Flight Games to create a board game based on the StarCraft universe. Additionally, Blizzard licensed Wizards of the Coast to make a game called StarCraft Adventures using the Alternity system.
In 2015, Blizzard released Heroes of the Storm, a multiplayer game where players can control characters from StarCraft, such as Artanis, Kerrigan, Nova, Raynor, and Zeratul. The game includes two battlefields inspired by StarCraft, Braxis Holdout and Warhead Junction. Music from StarCraft, like the Terran and Zerg themes, is used as background in the game. Heroes of the Storm began as a custom map called "Blizzard DOTA" in the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty game.
Reception and cultural impact
The StarCraft series became very popular and sold many copies. After its release, StarCraft was the best-selling PC game that year, with over 1.5 million copies sold worldwide. In the next ten years, it sold more than 9.5 million copies globally, including 4.5 million in South Korea. Blizzard Entertainment reported that its online multiplayer service, Battle.net, grew by 800 percent since StarCraft was released. Ten years after its release, StarCraft was still one of the most popular online games worldwide. In South Korea, StarCraft quickly became popular, creating a successful professional gaming scene. Professional gamers in South Korea are well-known media figures, and StarCraft games are broadcast on three television channels that focus on gaming. StarCraft has received many Game of the Year awards and is often called one of the best real-time strategy games ever made. It is widely credited with introducing the use of distinct and unique sides in real-time strategy games, rather than sides with equal strength.
Although Insurrection and Retribution were not well received, StarCraft: Brood War received very positive reviews, with an average GameRankings score of 95.00%. The magazine PC Zone gave Brood War a short but positive review, saying it was "definitely worth the wait" and noting that the cinematic cut scenes felt like part of the story. IGN said that Brood War's improvements "added to the core gameplay without losing the original feel," while GameSpot mentioned the expansion was made with the same level of care as the original game.
In 1999, Next Generation listed Warcraft and StarCraft as number 32 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time," stating that StarCraft "took it all a step further" with an innovative campaign structure and excellent game balance for long multiplayer sessions.
The release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was very successful, selling 1.8 million copies in the first 48 hours, breaking the record for the best-selling strategy game in history. It received very positive reviews, with an average GameRankings score of 93%, and was nominated as the "Best PC Game of 2010" by GameSpot. By the end of 2012, Wings of Liberty had sold more than six million copies. This success continued with the release of the first expansion pack, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, which had an average GameRankings score of 86%. The expansion sold 1.1 million copies in the first two days of its March 12, 2013, release and was the best-selling PC game that quarter. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, the third expansion pack, was also well received, with an average GameRankings score of 88% and sold over one million copies worldwide on its first day of release.
Since the release of StarCraft II, many tournaments have been held in Korea and other places, such as the GOMTV Global StarCraft II League (GSL).
In December 2018, an artificial intelligence system created by Google's DeepMind, called "AlphaStar," beat professional players in StarCraft II for the first time.
By the end of 2015, the StarCraft series had sold over 17.6 million copies of games and expansions. The first game, including Brood War, sold 11 million copies by 2009, making it the best-selling PC strategy game of all time. By the end of 2017, the franchise had earned over $1 billion in total revenue.