Blizzard is reportedly receiving quite a few pitches for brand spanking new StarCraft video video games from Korean studios.
In an article dropped at the web’s consideration by X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today listed 4 Korean corporations who’re reportedly competing with one another to develop new video games based mostly on the StarCraft IP and safe publishing rights: NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton. Apparently a few of these corporations have traveled to Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to make their pitches.
NCSoft, which is behind the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, is claimed to have pitched a StarCraft RPG of some type (an MMORPG?). Nexon, maker of The First Descendant, has pitched a “distinctive” use of the StarCraft IP. Netmarble (Solo Leveling: Arise, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad) is hoping to make a StarCraft cellular recreation. And Krafton, the corporate behind battle royale PUBG and The Sims competitor inZOI, desires to make a StarCraft recreation “based mostly by itself improvement capabilities.”
Of course, online game corporations pitch different online game corporations on a regular basis in terms of securing publishing rights and improvement contracts. And it could be the case that nothing talked about right here goes wherever. But StarCraft followers will definitely be aware of Blizzard’s reported curiosity in doing… one thing to increase the much-loved sci-fi universe, given how lengthy it’s been for the reason that final recreation within the franchise got here out. Activision Blizzard declined to remark when contacted by IGN.
It’s value remembering that in September, it emerged that Blizzard was making a 3rd try at creating a StarCraft shooter, with former Far Cry govt producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022, main the cost.
The information got here from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier whereas talking to IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, under, about his current guide, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment. Hay’s StarCraft shooter is talked about within the guide, and IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey requested Schreier if it’s prone to truly come out.
“If it’s not canceled!” Schreier replied. “This is Blizzard in spite of everything. Their historical past with StarCraft shooters isn’t good.
“Yes, that may be a venture that so far as I do know is in improvement, or no less than as of the time that I wrote this guide was in improvement. They are engaged on a StarCraft shooter, StarCraft isn’t useless at Blizzard.
“The objective of the guide isn’t to get a bunch of scoops about upcoming issues. That wasn’t the aim of this guide in any respect, it was very a lot to inform a narrative and concentrate on stuff that had occurred. But this felt like such an attention-grabbing and helpful nugget to incorporate as a result of it actually simply exhibits you that Blizzard can not stop StarCraft shooters.”
That was a reference to Blizzard’s notorious try and launch a StarCraft shooter up to now as a part of a bid to increase the StarCraft franchise past its real-time technique origins. StarCraft Ghost, introduced in 2002, was going to be a tactical-action console recreation by which you performed as a lethal Ghost operative within the make use of of the Dominion, however it was canceled in 2006 after a collection of delays.
A second try and make a StarCraft shooter, codenamed Ares, was canceled in 2019 so Blizzard might concentrate on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. Ares was reportedly “like Battlefield within the StarCraft universe,” however, like Ghost, fell by the wayside.
More lately, in November, Blizzard was noticed hiring for an “upcoming open-world shooter recreation,” with all indicators pointing to it being a StarCraft FPS.
Things are slowly ramping up for StarCraft. Blizzard lately launched StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, and introduced a StarCraft crossover with Warcraft card recreation Hearthstone.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
