StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm servers unlocking today
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm launches worldwide today, with servers unlocking in a rolling pattern around the globe. Details of when you can finally get back to Kerrigan's adventures within.
In several territories, including right here in Australia where I am required to keep working and not run off and harrass Terrans, Heart of the Swarm is already available. For everyone else, here's the full list of updated unlock times, courtesy of Battle.net:
- Southeast Asia
- Indochina Time (Bangkok) - 8:01 PM March 11
- Philippine Time (Manila) - 9:01 PM March 11
- Singapore Time - 9:01 PM March 11
- Australian Western Time (Perth) - 9:01 PM March 12
- Australian Eastern Time (Sydney) - 12:01 AM March 12
- New Zealand Standard Time - 2:01 AM March 12
- South African Standard Time - 1:01 AM March 12
- Korea and Taiwan
- China Standard Time (Taiwan) - 1:01 AM March 12
- Korea Standard Time (Seoul) - 2:01 AM March 12
- Europe
- Moscow Standard Time - 3:01 AM March 12
- Eastern European Time (Athens) - 2:01 AM March 12
- Central European Time (Paris) - 12:01 AM March 12
- Greenwich Mean Time (London) - 11:01 PM March 11
- Americas
- Brazil Standard Time (Sao Paulo) - 4:01 AM March 12
- Eastern Daylight Saving Time - 3:01 AM March 12
- Central Daylight Saving Time - 2:01 AM March 12
- Mountain Daylight Saving Time - 1:01 AM March 12
- Pacific Daylight Saving Time - 12:01 AM March 12
- Hawaii Standard Time - 9:01 PM March 11
If your timezone isn't covered here somehow, try everytimezone.com to line up with one that is listed.
You'll note that Blizzard's commitment to regional simship means some of you are waiting for the game while others are already playing, which I know some US denizens find practically intolerable since they're so used to it being the other way around. If the impatience is eating you alive, Kotaku has instructions on how to unlock your game early - although expect Blizzard to frown on this kind of thing.
There are plenty of launch events to head to while you're waiting, and Polygon notes with some amusement that PETA is taking the opportunity of the Irvine launch to promote its cause with a humorous campaign about Zerg abuse.
To paraphrase a great philosopher, the question is not 'Can Zerg reason?' nor 'Can they talk?' but 'Can they suffer when attacked with a Perdition flamethrower,'" PETA marketing manager Joel Bartlett said.
"PETA is full of StarCraft players, but we've always had empathy for the Zerg - and for anyone who is killed without consideration because they don't speak our language."
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm is the second instalment of three planned episodes. The first release, Wings of Liberty, focused on the Terrans, and has been updated with many of Heart of the Swarm's new features. The third episode, Legacy of the Void, is about the Protoss and is already in the works.
