StarCraft: Remastered

StarCraft: Remastered is Blizzard's modernized re-release of the original StarCraft, including the Brood War expansion. The Remastered version leaves the classic real-time strategy gameplay untouched, but updates graphics, audio, cutscenes and online features. You still command Terran, Zerg or Protoss, build bases, gather resources and lead armies in campaigns and multiplayer matches.

Blizzard explicitly describes the re-release as a visual and technical modernization rather than a reinterpretation: the familiar game mechanics and the competitive foundation of the original remain intact.

StarCraft: Remastered was released on Aug 14, 2017. The release includes the original StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War in the revised presentation. You can switch between the Remastered and classic graphics directly in the game.

In 2019, Blizzard also released StarCraft: Cartooned as an optional alternative graphics style by Carbot Animations. It visually replaces units, buildings, maps, menus and missions without changing the underlying game rules.

StarCraft: Remastered is available for Windows PC and macOS and is distributed through Blizzard's Battle.net ecosystem. Mac support belongs to the same Blizzard product as the PC version.

The core game follows the classic asymmetric RTS design of StarCraft. Terran, Zerg and Protoss each have their own units, production chains, economies and tactical strengths. The Remastered version does not fundamentally change this balance, but preserves the original behavior of units, pathfinding and combat.

Alongside the campaigns, custom games and competitive 1v1 matches play a central role. Precise control of many units and simultaneous management of economy, production, scouting and combat still define the multiplayer today.

Compared with modern games, the PC version has low hardware requirements. For Windows, Blizzard lists older dual-core processors, 2 GB RAM and 8 GB of free storage as the minimum; for higher settings, 4 GB RAM and a stronger graphics card are recommended. macOS is also supported.

StarCraft: Brood War is fully part of StarCraft: Remastered. The bundle therefore includes not only the original campaigns but also the expansion content, units and multiplayer balance that have made Brood War the definitive competitive version of the original StarCraft for decades.

For online play, Blizzard added modern matchmaking, rankings, player profiles and cloud storage for replays to the classic game base. Profiles show statistics and ladder ranks, among other things, while replays are saved via Battle.net and can be watched again.

The official ladder is now the central competitive environment for StarCraft: Remastered, separate from classic AI and bot competitions, which usually run through their own interfaces and older game versions.