New StarCraft Game Pitches from Renowned Korean Developers to Blizzard: Reports

Blizzard is reportedly receiving numerous pitches for new StarCraft video games from Korean studios, sparking excitement among fans of the iconic sci-fi franchise. According to an article highlighted by X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today reported that four Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are competing to develop new games based on the StarCraft IP and secure publishing rights. 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, proposed a StarCraft RPG, potentially an MMORPG. Nexon, the developer behind The First Descendant, suggested a "unique" use of the StarCraft IP. Netmarble, with titles like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad under its belt, is aiming to create a StarCraft mobile game. Meanwhile, Krafton, famous for PUBG and The Sims competitor inZOI, wants to leverage its development capabilities for a StarCraft game.

While pitches are a common occurrence in the gaming industry, the interest from Blizzard in expanding the StarCraft universe is noteworthy, especially given the time since the last game in the franchise was released. Activision Blizzard has declined to comment on these developments.

Additionally, 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 a discussion on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked about 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 fraught with challenges.

Blizzard's past attempts at expanding the StarCraft franchise beyond its real-time strategy roots include the canceled StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002, and Ares, a project akin to Battlefield in the StarCraft universe that was canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. More recently, in November, Blizzard was seen hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," which is believed to be a StarCraft FPS.

The StarCraft franchise is showing signs of revival, 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 is far from done with the beloved StarCraft universe.