A teaser site for upcoming StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm expansion appeared on the BattleNet domain, labeled Project Blackstone.
The sci-fi themed site portrays a fictional welcoming email from a bespectacled Dr. Helek Barnamoor, PhD Chairman on Dominion Xenostudies, Imperial Science Advisor, and Chief of Research for Project Blackstone to Blackstone Research Staff. The character's email includes information about the successful acquisition of several larval zerg specimens for research (and for BBQing).
The aim of the research at the Blackstone facility is to arrest Zerg regenerative properties and harness it for Dominion soldiers adaption.
The correspondence includes a curt reply from a smarmy looking Dr. Talen Ayers, "PhD Xenobiologist, bestselling author of Ayers on Aliens, and frustrated invitee." The reply implies that Ayers and other Blackstone Staff, "handpicked by top officials in Dominion intelligence and approved by Emperor Mengsk himself," were kidnapped to work on the Project Blackstone.
The website can be accessed here using the password Y7_$0>0k_3<$m. Blizzard registered ProjectBlackstone.com on Nov. 26 according to WHOIS data.
Polygon reported yesterday that official StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm launch events will take place in Melbourne, Australia; Seoul, South Korea; Versailles, France; and Irvine, California. Each event will begin at each location at 8:00 p.m. local time, March. 11, 2013 for the midnight release that night.
Polygon has contacted Blizzard regarding the appearance of Project Blackstone and will update when further information is made available.
Update: A Blizzard representative told Polygon: "Blackstone is a project we created to add a little more flavor and depth around StarCraft that we hope will be fun for players interested in learning more about the lore and universe surrounding the game."