New StarCraft Game Pitches from Renowned Korean Developers to Blizzard

Blizzard is reportedly receiving multiple pitches for new StarCraft video games from various Korean studios, sparking excitement among fans of the beloved sci-fi franchise. According to Asia Today, as highlighted by @KoreaXboxnews on X / Twitter, four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are vying to develop new StarCraft games and secure publishing rights. Representatives from 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, possibly an MMORPG. Nexon, creators of The First Descendant, pitched a "unique" take on 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 responsible for PUBG and the upcoming inZOI, wants to create a StarCraft game leveraging their own development strengths.

While pitches for new games are common in the industry and may not always lead to finalized projects, the interest from these Korean studios is a significant development for StarCraft fans, especially considering the franchise's long hiatus from new releases. Activision Blizzard declined to comment on these reports when contacted by IGN.

In addition to these pitches, 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 project marks Blizzard's third try at a StarCraft shooter, following the canceled StarCraft Ghost in 2006 and the codenamed Ares project in 2019, which was scrapped to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.

The news of the ongoing StarCraft shooter project was shared by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier during a discussion on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, referencing his book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment. Schreier noted that while the book's primary focus was not on upcoming projects, the StarCraft shooter was an important detail to include, highlighting Blizzard's persistent interest in the franchise.

Further indicating Blizzard's commitment to StarCraft, the company recently added StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection to Game Pass and announced a StarCraft crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. Additionally, Blizzard posted a job listing for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," with strong indications that it could be related to StarCraft.

These developments suggest that Blizzard is actively working to expand the StarCraft universe, much to the delight of its dedicated fanbase.