Blizzard has announced plans for post-launch content that will a part of its upcoming StarCraft 2 expansion, Legacy of the Void. Following launch, the expansion will be supported by series of single-player mission packs titled Nova Covert Ops.

GameSpot interviewed StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void senior designer Kristopher Howl about what to expect from Nova Covert Ops, when it will be released, and why the studio decided to develop single-player post-launch content for the game.

GameSpot: Tell us more about Nova Covert Ops. What type of game is it? What audience are you targeting with it?

Howl: So for Nova Covert Ops, this is content for players that have really enjoyed the campaign experience, which is a vast amount of players. The vocal majority comes from multiplayer but we have a huge player base that really enjoys campaign and that's really all they play. So now we're offering more content for those players and similar to the prologue where we have the three missions. Except with Nova Covert Ops we will have that little story interaction that you're used to with the campaign where you can upgrade your units. So with Nova's background, being a ghost, she unlocks some unique abilities for units that have this more techy approach to them. She'll be able to upgrade her own weapons, gear slots as well, like helmets that adjust visors so she gets special abilities to take into missions with her. She'll be present on the ground for you to run around and control. By equipping these items you will have new abilities in that mission to engage with.

It sounds like you're specifically focusing on Nova, and less of the army management side of things?

No, there will definitely be the army management side of StarCraft as well. That will be present. But she will have your Terran units that you're used to playing throughout Wings of Liberty, but she'll have her own unique upgrades that apply to those units that change them up a little bit, and how they play.

There will be moments where it's just you and Nova running through some spaces, but you'll definitely have you army-building missions as well.

Story-wise, will this all be a part of the StarCraft canon?

It will tie into some of Nova's lore. This is really a chance to explore her history a bit more, explain what the Terran dominion's been up to since the events of Legacy of the Void. It is taking place some time after the events of Legacy of the Void, the dust has settled, the Terran Dominion is trying to repair their homeworlds and the lives of their people. This will kick off on a tangent that explores Nova's world a little more.

Will this purely be a single-player experience?

Nova Covert Ops will be yes, but separate to the Covert Ops offering we'll also be pushing content for our co-op experience.

Is this going to be released as an expansion or more as an add-on DLC?

It's not going to be a full-blown campaign like Void etc. It's a shorter experience. There will be nine missions broken into three mission packs.

And you'll be rolling them out episodically?

That's what we're aiming for, yes.

Any release timeframe you could give us?

We are aiming to get the first one out by the start of next year. No exact date yet. We're just really trying hard to get it out for early next year.

In terms of overarching plans for the Starcraft 2 series, is that where it all ends, or is that something you're experimenting with?

So we haven't announced plans beyond Nova Covert Ops. We're certainly taking lessons that we've learned with Heroes and Hearthstone, and their approach to content, and we're looking to see how this goes.

The fact that she's established and that she's a ghost, we get a lot of awesome avenues to come up with some unique mission mechanics that we haven't had the opportunity to do before.

StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void will be released for PC on November 10. Blizzard will also be kicking off its annual BlizzCon convention over the weekend. GameSpot is in attendance and covering the show, so be sure to check back on site for more announcements as they roll out.