The Baneling (bottom right in image) is an evolved Zergling, which rolls along the ground until it arrives at a target. It specializes in attacking buildings en masse, a kind of land-based version of the flying Scourge.

Click on through for the new Baneling unit details. ... Read more

Chief among today's jokes was word that the company's highly successful PC MMO World of Warcraft will hit Atari 2600 in the form of World of Warcraft: The Molten Core. The collector's edition is said to pack tinted cellophane TV overlays, among other extras.

Another post teased the addition of Warcraft's Tauren race to the upcoming sci-fi RTS sequel StarCraft II, complete with screenshots and artwork.

Blizzard then jested it would be adding a Guitar Hero-esque Bard Hero class to the forthcoming World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King, before rounding out the festivities with its plans to sell a child-endangering Diablo-branded loot pinata.

Taking place in Paris, France on June 28 and 29, the event will feature invite-only tournaments for StarCraft, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft, along with panel discussions of various Blizzard products and the latest playable versions of StarCraft II and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

Though the company unveiled StarCraft II at last year's Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea, that news marked the only major announcement to come out of the event's three-year history. The studio is known to have at least one unannounced title in development.

"The previous Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals have provided great opportunities for us to meet with players and share some incredible gaming experiences with them," said Blizzard CEO and cofounder Mike Morhaime. "We're looking forward to bringing this event to Paris for the first time and offering an exciting show for everyone attending."

Check it out in streaming HD below, or grab it from FileShack.

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We have no idea when StarCraft II is being released on PC, but we can hope this year, can't we?

Hydralisks, Ultraslisks, Overlords and the ever-present creep all make a showing. Get a rush from the images below, and make ready your "K" and "E" keys.

In addition to showing off various chaotic attack scenarios, the images also provide evidence of a more gritty, refined artistic style than has been seen in previous builds of the game.

Check them out below, with commentary included from Blizzard community manager Karune.

"We have no plans to have in-game advertising in StarCraft II," the company told Blizzplanet. "We believe Bobby was actually referring to Battle.net, which has always included ads."

Original Story: With the merger between publisher Activision and Blizzard parent Vivendi Games closing in, Activision CEO Robert Kotick has briefly mentioned his company's plans for maximizing profit from Blizzard's upcoming PC strategy sequel StarCraft II.

"On the Blizzard side, [we need to] really be figuring out things like the StarCraft business model for the future, with in-game advertising and sponsorship, [which have] really not been something that has moved the dial for anybody in the... Read more

The first reference to an early version of chess was made in the 5th century AD. Thought to originate in India, the famous board game--then called shatranj, referring to the four divisions of the Persian military--took nearly a millennium to develop into the version we are familiar with today. In that time, kingdoms would rise and fall, and countless generations lived and died. Now chess is an institution, one of the world's best-known games, and a standard by which some of our greatest minds have been measured. In some ways, this reminds me of StarCraft II.

Now I don't know about you guys, but my favorite method of testing new units is to mass them into ridiculously large hordes and go to town. Here is the result of an hour of concentrated unit massing, with hordes of Battlecruisers, Marines, Colossi, and Motherships wrecking havoc on helpless AI opponents. Check out the first and second parts of this massive gallery.

Next is a look at the game from a statistical standpoint. Want to see how the new waypoint building queues work? Curious to know how many hit points a nuke does to a Nexus? You'll find answers to these questions in gallery one and two.

Lastly, by semi-popular demand, I took a few shots of the upcoming StarCraft board game, as well as some Blizzard-themed action figures. Take a gander.

Also take a look at the HD StarCraft 2 trailer @ FileShack

Beginning with an in-engine cutscene, the camera pulled backward through space, pushing through the bridge of a Terran Battlecruiser. The BC was revealed to be the Hyperion, with a grizzled Jim Raynor standing around a briefing display, amongst others. The characters were very highly detailed, and a Blizzard representative noted that they had cooperated with the Blizzard cinematic department to achieve that level of effect.

In a surprising development, the demonstration took a turn for the adventurous--with a click of the mouse, a dialogue tree was opened between Raynor and the marine from the StarCraft II trailer, Tycus. The player can interact with characters in the briefing room as in an adventure game, with storyline advances and gameplay information both being provided as a... Read more