By: Edward Jackson (Senior Editor)

Blizzard Entertainment to Celebrate Release with Signings, Exhibition Games, and More!!!

Blizzard Entertainment today announced its plans for the official North American midnight launch event for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the long-anticipated sequel to 1998’s critically acclaimed real-time strategy game, StarCraft. The event will take place at Fry’s Electronics at 10800 Kalama River Avenue in Fountain Valley, CA, with activities starting at 9 p.m. on July 26, and sales of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty beginning at midnight.

 “We’re looking forward to celebrating the launch of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty with our community at the official launch event here in Southern California and at other locations worldwide,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “This is something we’ve been working toward for several years, and we’re excited to soon be able to share the results of that work with gamers around the world.”

As well as being among the first to acquire the game, attendees will have an opportunity to meet developers from Blizzard Entertainment, who will be present to welcome players and sign their copies. Live music, exhibition matches, and Q&A sessions with Blizzard Entertainment developers will also take place onsite. More details about the event can be found at http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/events/starcraft2-midnight-openings.html.

Attendees will be able to purchase the standard edition of the game for a suggested price of $59.99 as well as the special Collector’s Edition for a suggested price of $99.99. The Collector’s Edition 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

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment’s 1998 blockbuster hit StarCraft. With over 11 million copies sold, the franchise has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy series of all time and has become a fixture 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. For more information on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, visit the official website at www.starcraft2.com.

video & photos provided by: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.