Original Blizzard has unveiled the system requirements for the closed beta version of its much-anticipated and long-coming PC real-time strategy sequel StarCraft 2.

Of course, exactly when the beta will begin has yet be disclosed.

At last official word, Blizzard expected the first StarCraft 2 release, Wings of Liberty, to hit store shelves within the first half of 2010. Two other games, the Zerg-centric "Heart of the Swarm" and Protoss-heavy "Legacy of the Void," will later round out the trilogy.

Minimum
Operating System
Windows XP / XP64 (Service Pack 3)
Windows Vista / Vista64 (service Pack 1)
Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor
Intel Pentium IV 1.3GHz
AMD XP 1500+
Memory
(Windows XP) 512mb
(Windows Vista) 1024mb
(Windows 7) 1024mb
Graphics
3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 32 MB VRAM
such as an ATI Radeon 7200 or NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or better
Hard Drive
15Gb (of free space)
DirectX
DirectX9.0c

Recommended
Operating System
Windows XP / XP64 (Service Pack 3)
Windows Vista / Vista64 (service Pack 1)
Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor
Intel Pentium D
AMD 64 X2 Memory
(Windows XP) 1024mb
(Windows Vista) 2048mb
(Windows 7) 2048mb
Graphics
3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM
such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT class card or better
Hard Drive
15Gb (of free space)
DirectX
DirectX9.0c

In addition to the above hardware requirements, you must have:

• a valid e-mail address and internet connection (for registration)
• an active Broadband Internet connection (for Battle.net play)

The final requirements for StarCraft II have not yet been determined; due to ongoing development the minimum requirements listed above are subject to change at any time.

Unfortunately, during this phase a Mac version will not be available.