New StarCraft Game Pitches from Korean Developers to Blizzard

Blizzard is reportedly receiving pitches for new StarCraft video games from several Korean studios, sparking excitement among fans eager for new content in the beloved sci-fi universe. According to Asia Today, four Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are competing to develop new games based on the StarCraft IP and secure publishing rights. Some of these companies have even visited Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their pitches.

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

While pitches between video game companies are common, the interest from these Korean studios has caught the attention of StarCraft enthusiasts, especially given the franchise's long hiatus since its last release. Activision Blizzard declined to comment on these developments when contacted by IGN.

In addition to these pitches, Blizzard has been making its own efforts to expand the StarCraft universe. In September, it was revealed that Blizzard is working on a third attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter, led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022. This news was shared by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier on IGN's Podcast Unlocked while 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 mixed history with StarCraft shooters. This history includes the canceled StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and intended as a tactical-action console game, which was canceled in 2006 after numerous delays. A second attempt, codenamed Ares, was also canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. More recently, Blizzard was seen hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," which many believe to be a StarCraft FPS.

Blizzard is also actively engaging with the StarCraft community by releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass and announcing a StarCraft crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone. These moves suggest that Blizzard is slowly ramping up efforts to revitalize the StarCraft franchise.