Blizzard was already at work on their "StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty" follow-up release "Heart of the Swarm" in August, but at that point it was "too early to estimate" when it might ship. A little over a month later, there's no official date set, but a Blizzard team member reportedly felt comfortable enough to mention an approximate window in public which would put the game's launch date somewhere in 2012.
Battle.net project director Greg Canessa said that Battle.net feature upgrades would be "a main area of focus we're going to be seeing on the 'Starcraft [2]' side over the next 18 months between now and 'Heart of the Swarm,'" according to a GameSpot report coming out of GDC Online in Austin, Texas.
Even if Canessa didn't just pull that timeframe out of thin air while he was speaking, it's probably safe to assume that Spring/Summer 2012 is far enough away that many things could change. We do know that the Zerg-focused second installment for the "SC2" trilogy will be single-player content heavy with some RPG elements and a few new multiplayer features.
Until then, I'm sure we can expect to see more maps added, as well as other tweaks and patches to keep things interesting during multiplayer matches.
I'm really stoked to see what Blizzard comes up with for their Zerg campaign, but they did enough quality work in "Wings of Liberty" that I'm willing to be patient while they put Chapter 2 of their game together. If it's as gratifying as Chapter 1, they should be in fine shape.
Are you OK with waiting 18 months for "Heart of the Swarm"? Is there enough going on with "SC2" right now to keep you entertained? Share your responses with us in the comment section below.