In a press release yesterday, Blizzard unveiled the details of the StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Collector's Edition

In a recent press release, Blizzard announced the "Collector's Edition" of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the long-awaited sequel to its classic StarCraft real-time strategy game. Customers of the regular and collector's edition of StarCraft II will both have access to the same Battle.net multiplayer features, although the collector's edition includes several bonus items and additional game content. "We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe with our players for over 10 years, and we wanted to offer an epic collector's edition that commemorated the occasion," Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime said in the press release. "This special version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty—easily our biggest collector's edition to date—does just that, and we think StarCraft II gamers will really enjoy all of the exclusive contents."

The "box set"-style collector's edition will be sold for $99.99 in retail stores only (as opposed to the regular edition for $59.99, available at retail stores and as a download via the online Blizzard Store). In addition to the game DVD, the collector's edition includes a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game, a 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor's dog tag preloaded with the original StarCraft and Brood War expansion, a StarCraft II soundtrack CD, a redemption code for a "mini Thor" in-game WoW vanity pet, exclusive StarCraft II downloadable content and more.

Click past the jump to read the complete press release, which includes a listing of all the collector's edition bonus items and additional release information. Afterwards, head over to ZAM's latest BFF Report to see our early in-game impressions of StarCraft II from the closed-beta.

IRVINE, Calif.--Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that its highly anticipated real-time strategy game, StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™, will be available both in a standard edition and in a limited-release Collector's Edition packed with exclusive bonus materials. Players who purchase either edition will be able to play online for no additional fee through the new version of Battle.net®, the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard Entertainment gamers.

“We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe with our players for over 10 years, and we wanted to offer an epic collector's edition that commemorated the occasion”

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows® XP/Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 and Macintosh®. The standard edition will sell for a suggested retail price of $59.99 and will also be available shortly after release as a download through the online Blizzard Store. The special Collector’s Edition package, which is priced at $99.99 and will only be available at retail stores, will include the following bonus items in addition to the game disc:

• The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game
• An exclusive 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor's dog tag, which comes preloaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War® expansion set
• A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, cinematics with director’s commentary, and more
• The official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks
• StarCraft comic book issue #0, a prequel to the comic series
• A World of Warcraft® mini Thor in-game pet that can be applied to all World of Warcraft characters on a single Battle.net account
• Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game, and a visually unique version of the terran Thor unit

"We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe with our players for over 10 years, and we wanted to offer an epic collector's edition that commemorated the occasion," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "This special version of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty -- easily our biggest collector's edition to date -- does just that, and we think StarCraft II gamers will really enjoy all of the exclusive contents."

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment’s 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. StarCraft II will once again center on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying favorite units from the original StarCraft, along with numerous upgraded and brand-new units and abilities that allow for fresh tactics and strategies. The game's new 3D-graphics engine maintains the speed and responsive control of its predecessor while rendering hundreds of units onscreen for massive battles.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty's solo campaign will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War. The storyline 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. In addition, dozens of multiplayer maps will be available for competitive play through the new version of Battle.net, which is launching alongside StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. This new version of the service has been built from the ground up to offer an unparalleled online play experience, with new features such as voice communication, character profiles and achievements, stat-tracking, ladders and leagues, cloud file storage, and more.

Additional information about StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, including the release date, will be announced in the coming weeks.