The original StarCraft was released for Microsoft Windows in 1998.
Blizzard Entertainment launched the real-time strategy game on March 31, 1998. It placed three radically different factions—the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg—in the Koprulu Sector and built its campaign around their conflicting interests. The game followed Warcraft II and helped establish Blizzard as a major strategy-game developer.
StarCraft is sometimes confused with StarCraft: Brood War, its major expansion. Brood War arrived later in 1998 and added new campaign chapters, units, and multiplayer content; it was not the original game's release. StarCraft was initially a Windows title, with a Macintosh version following later that year.
Its release became especially important in South Korea, where organized competitive play helped turn the game into a landmark esports title. StarCraft II eventually continued the series with a new 3D engine and a trilogy of campaigns.