‘StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm’ Beta Extended To Pre-Orders

Bummed out that you still haven’t been given an invite to the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm multiplayer beta? Starting today, you have some new options.

First off, Blizzard announced today that they will be “expanding” the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm beta. What this means for you is that, if you aren’t in already, there’s a chance that you’ll be invited in one of several waves leading up to the game’s March release.

If you don’t want to leave it to chance, Blizzard is also allowing beta access to anyone who pre-ordered the game before December 18 from the Blizzard Store. If you wait until after that point, you’ll still be able to get in but not immediately.

Instead, you’ll have to wait for the next “wave” of invites which the company says occurs roughly once every week.

Unfortunately, this offer doesn’t extend to all retailers. If you bought it from the Blizzard Store, you’re good to go, and those of you who do your game shopping on Amazon are in the clear as well.

For other retailers, you’ll have to check with them to make sure they’re offering or plan to offer beta keys.

If you’re just now joining the Heart of the Swarm beta, you’re just in time to help test out a number of new balance changes for all three races. A number of new features are available for testing as well including the new leveling system.

Naturally, you can expect a whole lot more balance tweaks, game fixes, and new features leading up to the game’s release.