If you ask hardcore PC gamers about what it is they are really waiting for this year and next, Blizzard games holds two of the top slots: the hack’n'slash sequel Diablo III, and the long-awaited follow-up to the iconic real-time strategy game Starcraft. Adding to what feels like an avalanche of great Mac gaming news recently, Blizzard announced they are planning a Mac beta test version for release in April.

Blizzard has been one of the few game companies to consistently release all of their games for both Mac and PC in ‘native’ form (i.e. not a ‘Cider-ized’ version, which is the PC game wrapped in a compatibility layer and tweaked for performance). They had announced plans for a Mac version long ago, but when the public beta test sign-up came along, there were no details about any possibility of a Mac beta.

From the Twitter Chat Transcript:

Q. Mac beta please! Any information?

A. We are currently working on a Mac version of the beta and hope to release it sometime in April. Hang in there!!

Also in the transcript Blizzard confirmed that they are planning a summer 2010 release on both platforms, saying they “are still on target to release the game in the middle part of this year. ”

Of course, if you really don’t know much about Starcraft, it is understandable – the original game was released in 1998 and the Brood War campaign was released in 1999. Yet the game is still regarded as the definitive real-time strategy game.

I didn’t play it when it was released, but when a friend convinced me to try a few years ago, after I had played many other games in the genre, I was amazed at how well it had stood the test of time and how wonderfully the gameplay and polish still placed it at the top of all games in the genre.

When sign-ups for the PC beta opened, I tried unsuccessfully to get a slot … hopefully I’ll have better luck with the Mac version when the sign-ups open up!

What about you – are you a RTS fan? And if so, have you played the original Starcraft and tried to get into the beta? How do you feel about the game being split into a trilogy? Any other thoughts?

Source: Battle.net forums via Macworld