World of StarCraft Mod is Now 'StarCraft Universe'

The anticipated StarCraft 2 mod that imitates World of Warcraft raids has a new name and is still on-track for a release. Techspot reports the mod is now "StarCraft Universe," after a cease & desist letter from Activision Blizzard forced the creators to abandon the old name, "World of StarCraft."

Though the mod still doesn't have a release date set, its creators promise plenty of character classes and monsters, a save game system, weapons that can be acquired as loot or in item shots, and a multiplayer focus for up to a dozen players at once. Battle maps are being made to recreate existing battles from the series canon.

The mod also appears to have a pretty robust in-game economy: minerals serve as money; allocation points from boss battles boost stats; and rank from taking down raid bosses lets you purchase better gear. The plans sound ambitious, and creator Ryan Winzen might be filling a request that Blizzard itself has been reluctant to jump on.

Blizzard's initial response to the mod caused some confusion last month, when it seemed the developer was trying to stop production of it. Instead, Blizzard insists that it is "looking forward to seeing the continued development of this mod." The cease & desist letter is said to have been protecting the trademark.