Blizzard’s Battle.net desktop is the company’s upcoming attempt at streamlining its games’ various launch procedures, and here’s your chance to see the program in action.
Battle.net was initially created as an online service designed to make it easier for players of Blizzard’s various games – the Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft franchises, most notably – to connect with one another online. As the years rolled by, Valve debuted the Steam digital distribution service, and in an effort to keep up with the competition, Blizzard updated Battle.net to include all manner of social networking features. Now Blizzard is working on a complete Battle.net desktop suite that will make launching and playing the firm’s games easier than ever before.
That clip you see embedded at top-right comes courtesy of Battle.net desktop beta tester and Starcraft 2 commentator “Husky.” It’s the first footage we’ve seen of the desktop in action, and helpfully the video’s creator spends a few minutes walking viewers through the new system’s functionality.
Truthfully, it’s nothing all that spectacular, but it does streamline the process of getting into a Starcraft II match. Instead of simply leaving players to find and click through the various Blizzard icons on their computer, the new desktop offers handy single-button links to launch any Blizzard titles you might have installed, while offering the service’s various social networking features at a glance. Will it change your life? Not unless your life is horribly sad, but since the desktop is slated to be a gratis release, we’re just happy for a more convenient way to check in on the Diablo III auction house.
There’s currently no solid release date on when the Battle.net desktop might be released to the general public. This is Blizzard we’re talking about, so you shouldn’t be too shocked to hear that “it will be done when it’s done.” Expect more news when/if that happens.
Source: PC Gamer
