Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly considering a variety of new StarCraft video game proposals from several Korean studios, indicating a potential expansion of the iconic sci-fi franchise. According to an article highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today mentioned four companies vying to develop new StarCraft games and secure publishing rights: NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton. Representatives from these companies have reportedly visited Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their pitches.
NCSoft, known for the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, is rumored to be pitching a StarCraft RPG, possibly an MMORPG. Nexon, the developer behind The First Descendant, is proposing a "unique" take on the StarCraft IP. Netmarble, with titles like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad under its belt, aims to create a StarCraft mobile game. Krafton, the company behind PUBG and inZOI, is interested in crafting a StarCraft game leveraging its own development capabilities.
While pitches are a common occurrence in the gaming industry, the reported interest from Blizzard has caught the attention of StarCraft fans, especially given the time elapsed since the last game in the series. Activision Blizzard declined to comment on these developments when approached by IGN.
This news comes on the heels of reports from September that Blizzard is working on its third attempt at a StarCraft shooter, led by Dan Hay, a former Far Cry executive producer who joined Blizzard in 2022. This project was mentioned by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier during IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, discussing his book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment. Schreier noted that while the project was in development at the time of writing, its future remains uncertain given Blizzard's history with StarCraft shooters.
Blizzard's past attempts at expanding the StarCraft universe into other genres include StarCraft Ghost, a tactical-action console game announced in 2002 but canceled in 2006 due to numerous delays. Another project, codenamed Ares, envisioned as a "Battlefield in the StarCraft universe," was canceled in 2019 to shift focus to Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.
More recently, Blizzard has been hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," with strong indications that it could be a StarCraft FPS. Additionally, Blizzard has been actively engaging with the StarCraft community by releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass and announcing a StarCraft crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These moves suggest that Blizzard is slowly ramping up its efforts to rejuvenate the StarCraft franchise.
