Scheduled to launch alongside StarCraft II, Blizzard's revamped Battle.net service will bring goodies like in-game achievements, unlockables, improved matchmaking, ladder and chat systems, an online marketplace, and more.

According to a Blizzard exec, the company is mulling the possibility of licensing the overhauled platform to third parties. "It's something that we've definitely talked about," said Blizzard's Rob Pardo, adding that it would take a lot of work from the company's other teams.


"Every time we have the discussion, we try to figure out what's going to happen if let's say a Blizzard game was coming out and a third party game was coming out at the same time. Could we be agnostic in that way?" It was also said that offering the same level of support to third parties might be difficult.

Pardo mentioned that StarCraft II's Map Marketplace will be an excellent test-bed for the company, so if that goes well, who knows what might unfold.