StarCraft is a real-time strategy game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, released on March 31, 1998 for Microsoft Windows and later brought to Classic Mac OS and the Nintendo 64. In a far future where humanity’s descendants and two alien civilizations struggle for survival, the player gathers resources, raises armies and fights across the stars, balancing three very different factions: the adaptable Terrans, the swarming Zerg and the technologically superior Protoss.

Each race plays by its own rules, with unique units, structures and strategies, and it is this asymmetry, paired with tight competitive balance, that made the game a lasting fixture of online play and one of the defining titles of the genre. StarCraft grew into a franchise spanning expansions, sequels and a scene that turned interstellar war into a discipline.