You can partly blame Battle.net for the delay of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty into 2010, but based on the capabilities that Activision Blizzard execs are promising for the service, it's clear Blizzard has their work cut out for them.


On top of developing StarCraft II, Diablo III and whatever World of Warcraft expansion(s) the developer is cooking, Blizzard is adding "social networking features, cross-game communication, unified account management" and more to the new Battle.net.

Mike Morhaime, president and a co-founder of Blizzard, says that the revamped Battle.net will let players "connect, communicate and share experiences with each other [...] regardless of which Blizzard games they are playing."


Activision boss Bobby Kotick says the cross-game service will be "similar to Xbox Live," wording that may send a chill down the spine of those wary of plans to monetize Battle.net.

Morhaime says the service will be integrated more tightly with StarCraft II than any previous Blizzard game.