‘StarCraft 2: Heart Of The Swarm’: PETA To Attend Launch

StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm‘s launch is going to be attended by PETA.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) plans to attend the release of StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, at a GameStop in Irvine, California. They will be handing out pamphlets decrying Zerg abuse, suggesting that everyone “have compassion for all beings,” including those in videogames.

In StarCraft games, the Zerg are a amalgamation of H. R. Giger’s Alien monsters, and insects. They are known for the ability to overwhelm an opponent with their sheer numbers, spawn multiple units at the same time, and burrow underground to lie in wait for a sneaky defense.

In StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, the storyline follows Zerg queen Sarah Kerrigan (Once a loyal sidekick to Jim Raynor, she was infected by the Zerg and made their leader) as she seeks revenge on her former Terran allies.

PETA’s pamphlet, entitled “Zerglings Have Feelings, Too” is intended to help players view StarCraft 2‘s Zerg species with empathy, director of marketing Joel Bartlett said. He continues:

“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 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.”

PETA claims the Zerg are victims of abuse because the Terrans won’t try to understand them. Blizzard counters the sentiment in saying that the Zerg are a ruthless and determined alien species bent on absolute domination.

In a way, PETA’s attendance at the release of StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm is actually helping to promote the game, which is more than we can say for their involvement in other videogames like Assassin’s Creed 4.

How do you feel about PETA’s involvement in the release of StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm?