New StarCraft Game Pitches from Korean Developers to Blizzard

Blizzard is reportedly receiving a number of pitches for new StarCraft video games from Korean studios, signaling a potential revival of the beloved sci-fi franchise. 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 competing to develop new games using the StarCraft IP and secure publishing rights. Some of these companies have even visited Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their pitches.

NCSoft, known for the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, has proposed a StarCraft RPG, possibly an MMORPG. Nexon, the creator of The First Descendant, has pitched a "unique" take on the StarCraft IP. Netmarble, with titles like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, is aiming to develop a StarCraft mobile game. Meanwhile, Krafton, the company behind PUBG and The Sims competitor inZOI, is interested in leveraging its own development capabilities to create a StarCraft game.

While such pitches are common in the gaming industry, the reported interest from Blizzard has sparked excitement among StarCraft fans, who have been eager for new content since the last game in the franchise. Activision Blizzard declined to comment when contacted by IGN.

Adding to the buzz, in September, it was revealed that Blizzard is making a third 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 is checkered.

Blizzard's past attempts to expand the StarCraft franchise beyond its real-time strategy roots have been unsuccessful. The tactical-action console game StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006, and the project codenamed Ares, canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2, are examples of these failed endeavors. More recently, in November, Blizzard was seen hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," with indications pointing toward it being a StarCraft FPS.

The franchise is seeing renewed attention, with Blizzard releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, and announcing a StarCraft crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These developments suggest that Blizzard may be gearing up for a significant expansion of the StarCraft universe.