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, signaling a potential expansion of the beloved sci-fi franchise. According to an article highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today reported that four 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 reportedly traveled to Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to pitch their ideas.

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

While pitches and development proposals are common in the gaming industry, and there's no guarantee that any of these projects will come to fruition, StarCraft fans are likely to be excited by Blizzard’s apparent interest in expanding the franchise. Activision Blizzard declined to comment when contacted by IGN.

This news follows reports from September that Blizzard is making another attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter, led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022. This information was shared by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier during 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, its future remains uncertain, given Blizzard's history with StarCraft shooters.

Blizzard's past efforts to create a StarCraft shooter include the infamous StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006 after numerous delays. A second attempt, codenamed Ares and described as "like Battlefield in the StarCraft universe," was canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. More recently, in November, Blizzard posted job listings for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," hinting at another StarCraft FPS.

The interest in StarCraft is further evidenced by Blizzard's recent actions, including the release of StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, as well as a crossover event with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These developments suggest that Blizzard is slowly ramping up efforts to revitalize the StarCraft universe.