Pre-orders for Blizzard's long-awaited PC sequel StarCraft 2 stand at 684,000 in the US alone, according to VGchartz.

The site predicts that this figure will rise to 750,000 by the time Tuesday's release date rolls around. VGchartz also reports that pre-orders for the upcoming Halo: Reach are currently 100,000 below those attained by last year's Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

In related news, Blizzard has refuted a report by the Wall Street Journal that the strategy game's budget had surpassed $100 million.

"Activision Blizzard Inc. hasn't disclosed development costs for its Starcraft II videogame," the WSJ admitted. "A July 16 article incorrectly said the company spent more than $100 million to develop the game; that figure referred to its "World of Warcraft" game."

StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty, the first of three planned boxed products for the game, launches on July 27.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-reach-684-000