Blizzard Brings Back Game Sharing in Starcraft II

Blizzard today announced that Starcraft II will be bringing back the “spawn” system used by the original title, allowing friends to share copies of their game.

In Starcraft II the system uses the “Starter Edition” of the game, which first launched back in 2011. This was essentially a F2P version of the game, which only gave players access to the Terran race and a limited selection of multiplayer maps.

However now if a player using the Starter Edition and a player running the full edition of Starcraft II party up, all members in the party will recieve full access to all unranked multiplayer maps and modes, as well as being able to watch replays. Unfortunately Starter users will still be limited to a single race. This “upgrade” lasts as long as at least one member of the party owns a full copy of Starcraft II.

In addition, owners of the Heart of the Swarm expansion can party up with friends who own the base Starcraft II game, giving them access to all of the units in the expansion. Again, this upgrade lasts until all Heart of the Swarm owners leave the party.

To reward players who have purchased Starcraft II, Blizzard has introduced a new achievement and profile picture that will unlock for people who “upgrade” their friends.