Starcraft 2 will not support multiplayer via LAN. This has been confirmed by Rob Pardo, VP of game design, in an interview with incgamers.com. So gamers will have to use Battle.net and play online in order to compete with other people. But the online platform Battle.net will also be updated for Starcraft 2. The Beta Phase of Starcraft 2 is said to be close at hand but there still is little information about the exact launch date.

Besides the schedule for the Beta fans are even more interested in the release date of the final version of Starcraft 2. Chris Sigaty, Lead Producer of Starcraft 2, said during a video interview with press2play that Blizzard plans to release Starcraft 2 in 2009 if the game is good and ready.

Until the Beta Phase of Starcraft 2 is finally started, you can pass the time by taking a look at the new high-res screenshots that have been released recently. You can also get an impression of the technical details in our article Starcraft 2: Technology and engine dissected. Furthermore incgamers presents a Starcraft 2 gameplay video and the official Tech Trees.

Update: June 30, 2009
After yesterday's reports that Starcraft 2 will not support multilayer via LAN, vg247.com now published a statement by Blizzard concerning the matter:

We don't currently plan to support LAN play with StarCraft II, as we are building Battle.net to be the ideal destination for multiplayer gaming with StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games. While this was a difficult decision for us, we felt that moving away from LAN play and directing players to our upgraded Battle.net service was the best option to ensure a quality multiplayer experience with StarCraft II and safeguard against piracy.

Several Battle.net features like advanced communication options, achievements, stat-tracking, and more, require players to be connected to the service, so we're encouraging everyone to use Battle.net as much as possible to get the most out of StarCraft II. We're looking forward to sharing more details about Battle.net and online functionality for StarCraft II in the near future.