StarCraft 2 will go free-to-play later this month
Wings of Liberty story campaign free for everyone.
Blizzard has announced that its phenomenally popular real-time strategy game StarCraft 2 will go free-to-play from November 14th.
Each of StarCraft 2's core modes will be affected by the change, as outlined in the introductory video below. From November 14th onward, for instance, everyone will have access to the full Wings of Liberty single-player story campaign at no cost. Those that already own Wings of Liberty can get the Heart of the Swarm story campaign for free by logging into Battle.net between November 8th and December 8th, 2017.
Additional campaigns - that is Heart of the Swarm, Legacy of the Void, and Nova Covert Ops - will be available to purchase individually for $14.99USD or together in the Campaign Collection $39.99USD. I'll update the story with UK prices as soon as they're available.
All of StarCraft 2's multiplayer Versus modes, meanwhile, are free to access, including the ranked ladder and all its latest units and balance updates. Access to the ranked ladder will granted after earning the first 10 wins of the day in Unranked mode or Versus AI mode, or upon purchasing any campaign, the Campaign Collection, or the War Chest.
For those interested in StarCraft 2's co-op commander missions, Kerrigan, Raynor, and Artanis will be completely free and available for uncapped progression. All other commanders will be free to use up to Level 5, but must be purchased to level any higher.
As a "thank you" to the StarCraft 2 community, Blizzard will be giving an Eidolon Ghost skin and three portraits to everyone that already owned a version of the game prior to October 31st, 2017. These, says Blizzard, are to commemorate a player's founder's status.
Further details can be found over on the official StarCraft 2 site.