Legacy

Twitch wouldn't have made the transition to be a game focused streaming platform without the popularity of SC2 at the time to incentivize it.

Stormgate - developed by Frost Giant and one of the new games potentially poised to spiritually succeed Starcraft 2, the starting team was primarily composed of ex-Blizzard and other former RTS devs.

Crowd at League of Legends World Championships 2022. RTS paved the way for games like this via serving as previously successful case studies of eSports and as sources of original material for the genre via custom maps.

It seems strange as a Starcraft fan to know now that Caster Jun had more years casting LoL than SC as of 2025.

Korea's equivalent of Twitch, recently rebranded in 2024 away from AfreecaTv as it was for over a decade to now SOOP. Also, the ongoing sponsor of the current biggest star league (tournament circuit) for Starcraft: Broodwar

Legacy of RTS: Standing the Test of Time

Legacy of RTS in competitive gaming and eSports is clear and outlined elsewhere, however, its influences and lasting marks on gaming and beyond are numerous. To summarize:

Rise of Twitch.tv platform and other streaming platforms (Afreeca aka SOOP for KR) - Before Twitch, there was Justin. Justin decided to swerve away from a generalist content policy to focus on games due to popularity of Starcraft 2 at the time. Its first partnered influencer account (as in first to have a subscription available to his channel) was none other than Day[9] aka Sean Plott, who was a former Broodwar pro player, Starcraft 2 commentator, and Starcraft content creator.
Online Gaming Mannerisms - RTS games (particularly starcraft along with some contemporary shooter games) popularized the practice of saying 'gg' (good game) 'glhf' (good luck have fun) as a form of sportsmanship and the derivative bad manner versions such as 'ggez' (get good easy)
RTS-derived terms like 'Zerging' and 'cheesing' to the gaming vernacular - 'zerg/zerging/zerg rushing' usually refers to swarming objectives or enemies with numbers in any given game context as one would as a zerg player in starcraft. 'cheesing' refers to Konglish word that twisted the English word 'cheating' to usually refer any cheap, dirty strategies that leave the victim of said tactics usually feeling angry, wronged, or some combination of negative feelings.
Major non-RTS titles derived from official game or fan-created mods/maps - MOBAs originated from Starcraft (Aeon of Strife) and Warcraft (DoTA) custom maps. World of Warcraft, one of the most successful and enduring MMORPG of all time, was crafted from utilizing the settings and plot of the Warcraft RTS games. There are numerous smaller examples where indie developers forged their game dev experiences in making custom experiences for Warcraft/Starcraft before they ventured to make a commercial version independent these games.
Genre is niche, the player population is aging and gatekeep against newcomers (stagnant water game), and some major near-future concerns about health of some previously major titles like SC2, ranging from lack of developer support to politics in injection of Saudi money into the scene, to potential inability to join the upcoming eSports World Cup, Korean pros migrating to BW or retiring, etc.
High bar for current and future devs - Many new studios and games are making their attempts to be included in the pantheon of RTS greats, many of them including former Blizzard/Westwood Studio devs. Some notable titles in development and/or early access include: Battle Aces, Stormgate, ZeroSpace, Immortal Gates of Pyre, etc.

Marine's Regret by Pineapple.
Chorus is also sung by several Starcraft pro players at the time. The song is about a Starcraft marine stuck in a bunker lamenting himself, the futility and horrors of war, and the fact that he regrets having to shoot to kill enemies who could have been friends in another life. He begs for forgiveness repeatedly, right to the end of the song. This song and video was briefly televised as a general anti-war message pointedly towards the Korean War and indirectly, the ongoing mandatory draft of the Korean male population (ceasefire since the early 1950s and continues to this day). This was largely a response to the North Korean bombardment at Yeonpyeong Island in early 2010s.