Battle.net preventing Starcraft II piracy

Blizzard executive Michael Ryder has been bigging up the company's online network, Battle.net, saying it's helping them win the fight against pirates.

"For World of Warcraft we have been able to work well around the piracy issue and we think we'll be able to do the same with StarCraft II," he told MCV.

"The Battle.net solution provides several things. It provides better continuity for the players and it gives them a stronger way to participate in an overall Blizzard community. But what also goes hand-in-hand with the Battle.net solution is that we work really hard to offer a tailored, regional business model, so it reduces the incentives to go to a pirated solution."

Ryder's also been chatting about how the company's changed since the 2007 Activision merger - saying that, in short, it hasn't.

"We operate in pretty much the same way we always have. Since we have been working with Activision we continue to be who we are. We make the same decisions in the same way we always have, and the relationship with Activision hasn't changed that," he said.

"For example, we often talk about play nice and play fair, which has to do how we work with each other and our partners. Preserving that Blizzard culture is a key part of our ability to continue to deliver great games."

Blizzard's most recent release, Starcraft II, is indeed great. Read our review for more info.