
Blizzard has announced the introduction of War Chests in StarCraft II. There is one chest for each race in SC2 which makes three total chests you can purchase. Once a player unlocks a chest they are then able to play SC2 multiplayer or co-op (sorry arcade lovers) which earns them XP that goes towards their races progression path. As you gain XP and progress you gain special in-game items within SC2 and across other Blizzard games. The screenshot below shows the progression paths.

Here are the main takeaways
- Early access to in-game items for all three races
- You can unlock skins, decals, sprays, portraits, emoticons
- 3 progression packs, one for each race
- Purchase each pack separately for $10USD or in a bundle for $25USD
- Immediately grants rewards for you in SC2 and across other titles
- Playing games in SC2 (Multiplayer/COOP… not Arcade) will grant XP towards each phase
- Over next 3 months additional phases will open up
- Event concludes with SC2 world champions
- 25% goes to eSports (200,000 will be added to 500k blizcon prize pool) the rest goes into operational support 2017/2018 seasons
Once great feature about this is that XP earned goes across all races. If you start with one race and get to phase 2 then decide you want another race, once you buy it you’re leveled up to the exact same spot. So if you buy the bundle from the start you’ll unlock all three races items at the same time as you progress. That’s pretty cool.
The system itself seems to take a play from SMITE who always has something leading up to their world championship where players can buy gems and unlock unique skins, avatars, and more. It’s a good way to engage your community, raise money for prize pools, and give players unique items that will never again be available.