New StarCraft Game Pitches from Korean Developers to Blizzard

Blizzard is reportedly receiving multiple pitches for new StarCraft video games from Korean studios, as highlighted by an article from Asia Today shared on X/Twitter by @KoreaXboxnews. Four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are vying for the opportunity to develop new games based on the StarCraft IP and secure publishing rights. Representatives from some of these companies have even visited Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their proposals.

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

While pitches and development proposals are common in the video game 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 declined to comment on these developments when contacted by IGN.

In related news, Blizzard has been working on a third attempt at a StarCraft shooter, led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022. This project was mentioned by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier in his book, "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment," and during an appearance on IGN’s Podcast Unlocked. 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 attempts at StarCraft shooters include the canceled StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002 and canceled in 2006, and the Ares project, canceled in 2019 to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. More recently, Blizzard has been hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," which appears to be a StarCraft FPS.

The StarCraft franchise is seeing renewed activity, with Blizzard releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass, and announcing a StarCraft crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone.