News from Blizzard Entertainment has been hotting up in the past few days and I feel it is my duty to report on recent, exciting revelations.

First up, we have news that STARCRAFT II, 12 years in-the-making (give or take a few years idle), is finally sporting a release date. The ridiculously-anticipated sci fi RTS arrives July 27th, 2010. Set your zerg to “Rush” and get your Pre-Orders in-line.

Next, news has dropped that the WORLD OF WARCRAFT: Cataclysm “Friends & Family” Beta testing phase has begun. If you are a Blizzard “Friend” or “Family” member, you’ll already know this. If not – you’re out of luck. This is good news nevertheless, as it means Closed Beta is closer then ever. It is probably safe to assume that Cataclysm won’t appear on shelves until after STARCRAFT II has launched.

In related WoW: Cataclysm news, Blizz has been showing off new screenshots of the expansion (see above, left) on the official WoW site and the updated water effects look mighty good.

The tenatively promising Gaikai game-streaming service is teasing WoW on the iPad. It’s only a photo, but we’ll dream along anyway.

Finally, the Blizzard web site’s Concept Art Gallery is being updated with regularity and you’ll want to check in and poke around. There are some ancient goodies hiding in there.

Unfortunately, no fresh news on DIABLO III, but for all your general Blizzard news I recommend keeping an eye on BlizzPlanet.com.

“The solo campaign for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War®. The story line chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players will be able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign. Several challenge-mode mini-games will also be included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies.”

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A Blizzard Of News