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. In an article highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today listed four Korean companies competing 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 traveled to Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their pitches.

NCSoft, known for the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, has proposed a StarCraft RPG, potentially an MMORPG. Nexon, the developer of The First Descendant, has pitched a "unique" use of the StarCraft IP. Netmarble, behind games like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, is aiming to create a StarCraft mobile game. Meanwhile, Krafton, the creator of PUBG and the upcoming inZOI, wants to develop a StarCraft game leveraging its own development capabilities.

While pitches between video game companies are common, it remains uncertain whether these proposals will lead to actual projects. However, StarCraft fans are taking note of Blizzard's interest in expanding the beloved sci-fi universe, especially since it's been a while since the last game in the franchise was released. Activision Blizzard declined to comment when contacted by IGN.

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 information came from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier during an IGN’s Podcast Unlocked discussion about his book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment. Schreier mentioned Hay's StarCraft shooter project in the book, and when asked by IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey about its likelihood of release, Schreier responded, "If it’s not canceled! This is Blizzard after all. Their history with StarCraft shooters is not good."

Schreier confirmed that the project was in development at the time of writing his book, emphasizing that Blizzard's interest in StarCraft shooters persists despite past failures. Blizzard's previous attempts at StarCraft shooters include the infamous StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006, and another project codenamed Ares, which was canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. More recently, in November, Blizzard was spotted hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," with signs pointing towards it being a StarCraft FPS.

Blizzard is gradually ramping up activities related to StarCraft, with recent releases of StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, along with a StarCraft crossover event in the Warcraft card game Hearthstone.