StarCraft II is the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game, and the sequel to the hit original, StarCraft. The game will include three completely distinct and balanced races, the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg, which have been overhauled and re-imagined with a number of new units for each, as well as new tricks for some of the classic units that are returning.

At this point, it's too early to provide an initial estimate on the release date. As with all Blizzard games, we will take as much time as needed to ensure the game is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible.

StarCraft II will run on a vibrant new 3D-graphics engine that will be capable of rendering beautiful landscapes as well as massive individual units and army sizes.

We're also introducing a number of distinct new units to the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg, and even some of the familiar units that return in StarCraft II will have new tricks up their sleeves, which will give the game its own unique flavor.

In addition, Battle.net will be overhauled with some new and exciting features to enhance online play and competition, while the story-mode campaign will also offer some unique aspects for players who enjoy single-player content. We'll have more details on all these aspects in the months to come.

Yes, StarCraft II will include a unique story-mode campaign, as well as multiplayer capability over Battle.net. We'll provide more detail on both of these aspects a little further along in the development process.

It's a little too early to get into details on the story. Once we're able to discuss the single-player campaign in detail, we'll also share some exciting information about the story line for the game.

We know that StarCraft II players will expect to see some Blizzard-quality cinematic content in the game, and we have definite plans to include multiple cinematics, starting with a cinematic intro. We'll provide further confirmation once final determinations have been made.

In StarCraft II, players will see the return of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg races. Our goal is to ensure that all the factions in the game play even more distinctly from one another than in the original StarCraft, while still maintaining the fine balance that helped make StarCraft such a classic. We're also introducing a number of new units to each race, as well as modifying some of the familiar units returning in StarCraft II. With these design refinements and the new features we have planned for the single-player and multiplayer elements of the game, StarCraft II will offer a next-generation StarCraft experience.

We recognize that the bar is set pretty high, but this type of pressure is not new to us. Warcraft III had to follow in the footsteps of Warcraft II, and Diablo II had to follow the original Diablo. Creating a StarCraft game that's bigger and better than the original is definitely a big challenge, but it's one that we fully intend to meet and exceed.

Our goal is to release the game simultaneously across the world in multiple languages. As we get closer to release, we'll have more details to share.

Our focus has been and will continue to be on developing and refining the core StarCraft II experience, so we haven't really had much time to consider what types of things we would include with an expansion for the game if we were to do one.

StarCraft II is being developed for the PC. We have no current plans to bring the game to any console platform.