Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly receiving a flurry of pitches from Korean studios eager to expand the beloved StarCraft universe. According to an article highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today revealed that four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are vying to develop new StarCraft games and secure the coveted publishing rights. Representatives from these companies have even traveled to Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their proposals.
NCSoft, known for the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, 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, behind titles like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, is aiming to develop a StarCraft mobile game. Meanwhile, Krafton, the powerhouse behind PUBG and the upcoming The Sims competitor inZOI, is looking to leverage its development capabilities to create a new StarCraft game.
While pitches between video game companies are commonplace, the interest from these Korean studios has sparked excitement among StarCraft fans, especially given the franchise's long hiatus since the last game release. Activision Blizzard has declined to comment on these developments when approached by IGN.
Adding to the buzz, Blizzard is reportedly making another attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter. This project is being led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022. The 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 was in development at the time of his writing, Blizzard's history with StarCraft shooters has been rocky.
Blizzard's past attempts at StarCraft shooters include the infamous StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006 after numerous delays, and the codenamed Ares project, 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 to be a StarCraft FPS.
The StarCraft franchise is showing signs of revival. Blizzard has released StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass and announced a crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These developments suggest that Blizzard is not ready to let go of the StarCraft universe just yet.
