StarCraft, Brood War now free to download and play

Blizzard has just released the Version 1.18 update for “StarCraft” and “StarCraft: Brood War,” which effectively makes the best-selling classics completely free to download and play.

This is the first patch for the games in more than 8 years. It fixes a number of bugs while introducing a couple of new features, such as an enhanced anti-cheat system and an observer mode.

The update instructions, as well as full list of changes, can be found in Blizzard’s “StarCraft” blog.

The Version 1.18 update also prepares the games for the upcoming “StarCraft: Remastered” upgrade. The remaster will boast a 4K UltraHD boost to the visuals, as well as enhanced audio and dialogue.

1998’s “StarCraft” and its expansion “StarCraft: Brood War” are two of the best real-time strategy (RTS) games ever made, and were responsible for the increase in popularity of the genre, and the legitimization of e-sports.

They were succeeded in 2010 by the sequel “StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty,” which in turn was followed by “StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm” and “StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void” in 2013 and 2015 respectively. — TJD, GMA News