Exciting news has emerged for fans of the iconic StarCraft franchise: Blizzard is reportedly receiving pitches from various Korean studios to develop new games based on the StarCraft IP. According to a report by Asia Today, highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are vying for the opportunity to expand the beloved sci-fi universe.
NCSoft, known for the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, has proposed a StarCraft RPG, potentially an MMORPG. Nexon, the developer behind The First Descendant, has pitched a "unique" take on the StarCraft IP. Netmarble, with titles like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad under its belt, is aiming to create a StarCraft mobile game. Meanwhile, Krafton, famous for PUBG and the upcoming inZOI, wants to leverage its development capabilities to craft a new StarCraft experience.
Representatives from these companies have reportedly traveled to Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their pitches. While it's common for game companies to pitch ideas to secure publishing rights and development contracts, the interest from Blizzard in expanding the StarCraft universe is noteworthy, especially given the time that has passed since the last game in the franchise was released. Activision Blizzard has declined to comment on these developments when approached by IGN.
Adding to the buzz, it was revealed in September that Blizzard is making another attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter, led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022. This news was shared by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier during an appearance on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, discussing his book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment. Schreier noted that while the project is in development, Blizzard's history with StarCraft shooters has been fraught with challenges.
Blizzard's past attempts at StarCraft shooters include StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006, and a project codenamed Ares, canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. More recently, Blizzard has been hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," which many believe could be another StarCraft FPS.
The momentum for StarCraft is building, with Blizzard recently releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, and announcing a crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These developments signal a renewed interest in the franchise, much to the delight of StarCraft enthusiasts worldwide.
