The studio is designing the game announced at BlizzCon to be narrative-driven, so it won’t resemble the typical live-service titles.
Following the announcement of the new, as-yet-untitled StarCraft game at BlizzCon, Executive Producer and Creative Director Dan Hay (best known for his work on Far Cry 3–6) spoke with the Korean media about the open-world shooter. According to a transcript by Inven Global, StarCraft will resemble the Far Cry series (albeit with a customizable protagonist) rather than a live-service multiplayer game.
The cinematic announcement trailer depicts a confident young soldier undergoing training before being brutally torn apart by the Zerg. This is more reminiscent of Helldivers than a standalone, boxed game. We’re still not convinced that some form of cooperative or shared-world multiplayer won’t be added by 2030. Hay revealed more about StarCraft‘s structure, distinguishing between story-driven missions and open-world exploration. He mentioned that StarCraft is set 70 years after the events of StarCraft II, which has given the developers a great deal of narrative freedom.
“If I were to describe the overall structure we currently envision, it’s a boxed product. It is a narrative-driven, open-world shooter where players create and name a character and follow that character’s story. The story has a beginning, middle, and end. You can roam around and explore a rich open world, but the story has a definitive ending. Think of it as purchasing a standalone boxed game, playing it, and experiencing its story. We hope players enjoy it and come back to us later. At the very least, what we are building is not a seasonal game. If a mission is too challenging, you can return to the open world and engage in other activities at your own pace.
If you don’t have the right gear, you can head out into the world, scavenge for what you need, upgrade your armor, and try again. I enjoy wandering slowly, exploring, and discovering new things and unexpected turns. Thanks to the 70-year gap, we can create new stories, adventures, and characters. Factions that appeared a certain way in the past may have changed their views over 70 years, disagreed with each other, or split into smaller groups. These changes provide ample room to forge new narratives. “It’s crucial to tell a new story while preserving StarCraft’s signature dark, gritty mood and space western atmosphere,” said Hay.
StarCraft isn’t expected to be released until 2030. Immediately after the announcement, Blizzard posted several job listings.
Source: PCGamer, Inven Global, Blizzard
