Blizzard Entertainment has certainly not been in a good position when it comes to esports. Streamers abandoning Hearthstone because of shabby treatment from the company, while the Overwatch league fails to attract attention because of the steep sign-up price (while Overwatch teams disband one by one). In a desperate move to bring StarCraft 2 to the spotlight (which is perhaps the last and most popular real time strategy game to have made it to the list of esports with decent viewership), Blizzard Entertainment introduces a ‘War Chest’, full of decals, skins and emoticons which can be unlocked by playing StarCraft 2 during the period from July 19 to November 4.
The War Chest is divided into 3 phases – Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III. The War Chest is made available for purchase on July 19, when Phase I starts. Phase II opens on August 16, while Phase III opens on September 13. The War Chest purchase deadline is October 4, after which no one would be able to purchase it any more. This follows a month of double XP, leading to Nov 4, when the War Chest closes. Each faction starts with a single unit skin and an exclusive portrait. Additional skins can be unlocked by playing Multiplayer or Co-op matches in-game. Upto 70 new items in the form of sprays, emoticons, exclusive portraits, and StarCraft 2’s army wide skins can be unlocked.
All proceeds from the purchase of War Chests go directly to the Blizzcon StarCraft 2 prize pool. The first 200 million dollars are added to the prize pool, and any surplus goes to the StarCraft 2 event production.
The price for the War Chest is $24.99 for the entire collection, or $6.99 for individual race passes.