I've been playing Starcraft 2 casually since launch and I'm confident that the crack-dealer model isn't applicable here, at least for the game's core 1v1 mode (

I've been playing Starcraft 2 casually since launch and I'm confident that the crack-dealer model isn't applicable here, at least for the game's core 1v1 mode (which is what's being made free), due to the brutality of the ranked multiplayer ladder. Skilled matchmaking ensures you lose 50% of the matches you play, and you have no one to blame for your failures but yourself. You can improve 100x and still feel like you suck at the game. Addictive free to play games are easy by design, appeal to the broadest possible demographics and boost your ego by congratulating you for trivial accomplishments. Starcraft 2, by contrast, is arguably the hardest multiplayer video game in existence, and is far too challenging for casual addiction to become a problem.