Blizzard considering free-to-play option for Starcraft II multiplayer

Blizzard is looking into potentially offering a free-to-play option for Starcraft II’s multiplayer mode, according to the game’s lead designer Dustin Browder.

Browder was asked during a panel at the Valencia eSports Congress (via pcgamesn) if Blizzard had any plans for f2p for the popular strategy franchise.

[We’re] looking at free to play as an option for the multiplayer,” Browder said.

He admits one of the bigger hurdles at the moment is how the company would go about monetizing the game.

We don’t know how we would monetize it. While it might be good fun for me to play against someone with only half the units available to them, that’s not going to be an enjoyable experience for them.”

On top of that, two of the three installments for the game have yet to launch – Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is already out on PC, but Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void haven’t yet received release windows. It seems a bit unlikely Blizzard would pounce on the free-to-play train before seeing out the base game’s two integral expansions.