Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly receiving multiple pitches from Korean studios eager to develop new games within the iconic 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 in a competitive race to secure the rights to create new StarCraft titles. 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 developer behind 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 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 and proposals are common in the gaming industry, the interest from these Korean studios has sparked excitement among StarCraft fans, 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 a related development, Blizzard is reportedly making another attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter, marking its third try. 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 previous attempts at expanding the StarCraft franchise into the shooter genre include the canceled StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006, and the codenamed Ares project, which was scrapped 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 StarCraft universe is seeing renewed activity, with Blizzard releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, and announcing a crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These developments suggest that Blizzard is far from finished with the beloved sci-fi franchise.
