Following Activision Blizzard's delay of Singularity to 2010, an analyst predicts that Starcraft 2 will also be postponed to next year.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said it was likely that *Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty *would be moved to 2010 in order to make room for the November release of highly anticipated shooter* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2*, which is forecast to sell 11 million copies.
Bhatia also cited the recent delay of* Starcraft 2*'s beta as a sign that the full release may be pushed to next year.
According to the Journal, *Starcraft 2 *is slated for an October launch and is expected to sell three million units. Blizzard has said that the company was aiming to release the title this year. Activision declined to comment on Starcraft 2's release.
It makes sense for Activision to have Singularity, a first-person shooter and a new intellectual property originally due this fall, to stay out of Modern Warfare's way -- though the delay has also caused some speculation about the state of the game's development.
But Starcraft 2 is a real-time strategy title, one that hardcore fans have been waiting over a decade for. Would its sales really be cannibalized by Modern Warfare? If Starcraft 2 was delayed, it could also be due to Blizzard's policy of taking as much time as it needs to complete a game.
Even if the game's launch is postponed to early 2010, Starcraft 2 should still be a big money-maker. Plus, if there is a delay, angry fans can hope that Blizzard changes their mind and puts local area network play back in.
[via gamesindustry.biz]
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