StarCraft II just took one large step closer to free-to-play.
Patch 2.1, the latest update for Blizzard's real-time strategy game, expands StarCraft II's free Starter Edition to three races and opens up all custom games to absolutely anyone. So if someone uses StarCraft II's map editor to make the next DOTA—which itself was originally a custom WarCraft III map based on a custom StarCraft map called Aeon of Strife—anyone can play it.
So if you make a map or game in the Blizzard Arcade, you can invite all of your friends to play it—not just the ones who own StarCraft. That's pretty damn cool.
The patch goes live today. Blizzard made a funny video to commemorate the occasion—you can watch it above.