Starcraft Universe, a Starcraft II mod that turns the game into an open-world MMO in the vein of World of Warcraft, is turning to Kickstarter to meet its goals and get the product launched after several years of development. The Kickstarter just opened and is seeking $80,000 to complete the game's first act and release it into public beta. The game itself is being built by developer Upheaval Arts and will be distributed through Blizzard's Battle.net service — and while Blizzard itself isn't involved in the game at all, it does have the blessing of Starcraft's creators. And it'll be free to anyone who has previously purchased Starcraft, though the Upheaval Arts apparently will need some fans out there to open their wallets to get the game off the ground.

As with pretty much every other Kickstarter project out there, the Starcraft Universe campaign has a number of stretch goals beyond the $80,000 the developers are looking for — those goals will unlock new storylines, playable areas, and a number of localization options to bring the game to other countries. And like most other Kickstarters, there are some nice perks for backers, including a slew of in-game items as well as more exclusive rewards like a Skype call with the developers or the option to collaborate with composer David Orr on the game's soundtrack. If you want to know more about exactly what you're getting into with this Kickstarter, the game's campaign page has a plethora of info — and, even better, users can try a demo of the game itself. While the Kickstarter hasn't earned much money towards its goal quite yet, we're guessing that Starcraft's dedicated fanbase will likely give this project the push it needs to get over the finish line.