Following World of Warcraft’s new free-to-play model, Blizzard has decided to employ the same tactic with Stacraft II, dumping the demo and instituting the Starcraft II: Starter Edition, which will allow players to play through the first four missions, the first two challenges and four multiplayer maps. In other words, a shareware version of Starcraft II.
The four multiplayer maps include Xel’Naga Caverns, Shattered Temple, Discord IV, and High Orbit, but it seems that the maps will be rotated with other maps. In addition, players will only be allowed to play as the Terrans in custom games, and will not be allowed to engage in matchmaking. The multiplayer mode is solely for players who don’t own the game to try out games with friends.
Players can download Starcraft II: Starter Edition here.
