StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraftseries was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998.With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling games for the personal computer. A Mac OS version was released in March 1999, and a Nintendo 64adaptation co-developed with Mass Media Interactive Entertainment was released on 13 June 2000. StarCraft has had its storyline adapted and expanded through a series of novels, the expansion pack StarCraft: Brood War and two authorized add-ons. The game's sequel, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, was released in July 2010.

Set in the 26th century, the game revolves around three species fighting for dominance in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy known as the Koprulu Sector: the Terrans, humans exiled from Earth skilled at adapting to any situation; the Zerg, a race of insectoid aliens in pursuit of genetic perfection, obsessed with assimilating other races; and the Protoss, a humanoid species with advanced technology andpsionic abilities, attempting to preserve their civilization and strict philosophical way of living from the Zerg. The game has been praised for pioneering the use of unique factions in real-time strategy gameplay and for a compelling story.

Many of the industry's journalists have praised StarCraft as one of the best and most important video games of all time, and for having raised the bar for developing real-time strategy games. StarCraft's multiplayer is particularly popular in South Korea, where players and teams participate in professional competitions, earn sponsorships, and compete in televised tournaments