New StarCraft Game Pitches from Korean Developers to Blizzard: Report

Blizzard is reportedly receiving pitches for new StarCraft games from several Korean studios, according to an article highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews from Asia Today. Four prominent Korean companies are vying for the opportunity to develop new games based on the StarCraft IP and secure publishing rights: NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton. Representatives from some of these companies have even traveled to Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their pitches.

NCSoft, known for the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, is reportedly pitching a StarCraft RPG, potentially an MMORPG. Nexon, the creator of The First Descendant, has proposed a "unique" use of 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 company behind PUBG and the upcoming The Sims competitor inZOI, is interested in crafting a StarCraft game leveraging its own development capabilities.

While pitches for new games are common in the industry, and not all may come to fruition, StarCraft fans are keenly interested in Blizzard's apparent willingness to expand the beloved sci-fi universe. It has been a significant time since the last game in the franchise was released. Activision Blizzard declined to comment when approached by IGN.

It’s also worth noting that Blizzard has been working on a StarCraft shooter, marking its third attempt at such a project. This effort is being led by Dan Hay, a former Far Cry executive producer who joined Blizzard in 2022. The project was mentioned in Jason Schreier’s book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, during his discussion on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked. Schreier emphasized that while the project was in development at the time of his book's writing, its future remains uncertain given Blizzard's history with StarCraft shooters.

Blizzard’s previous attempts at a StarCraft shooter include StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006 after numerous delays, and Ares, a project canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. More recently, Blizzard was seen hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," with indications pointing toward it being a StarCraft FPS.

Blizzard is gradually ramping up its efforts around StarCraft, evidenced by the release of StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, as well as a StarCraft crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone.