Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly exploring new avenues for the StarCraft franchise, with several Korean studios pitching their ideas to expand this iconic sci-fi universe. According to Asia Today, via @KoreaXboxnews on X / Twitter, four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are vying for the opportunity to develop new StarCraft games and secure publishing rights. Representatives from these companies have even traveled to Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their proposals.
NCSoft, known for its MMOs Lineage and Guild Wars, is reportedly pitching a StarCraft RPG, possibly an MMORPG. Nexon, the creator of The First Descendant, has proposed 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 develop a StarCraft mobile game. Meanwhile, Krafton, the studio behind PUBG and inZOI, is interested in leveraging its development capabilities for a StarCraft game.
While pitches are a common occurrence in the gaming industry, the involvement of these high-profile studios has certainly caught the attention of StarCraft enthusiasts, especially given the franchise's long hiatus since its last major release. Activision Blizzard has declined to comment on these developments when approached by IGN.
In addition to these pitches, Blizzard is reportedly making a third attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter. This project is being led by Dan Hay, a former Far Cry executive producer who joined Blizzard in 2022. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier discussed this in IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, referencing 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 his writing, its future remains uncertain, given Blizzard's past struggles with StarCraft shooters.
Blizzard's history with StarCraft shooters includes the infamous StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 but canceled in 2006, and Ares, a project 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," which many believe could be another StarCraft FPS.
The franchise is showing signs of life beyond these development efforts. Blizzard has released StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass and announced a StarCraft crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These moves indicate that Blizzard is actively working to keep the StarCraft universe alive and engaging for its fans.
