It sounds like something we heard in the 2000s, but a lot has changed in the world and the gaming industry since then…
Despite being one of Blizzard’s core IPs, StarCraft hasn’t received any new content since 2017. That was the year that the first episode remaster was released. Prior to that, 2016 saw the release of StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops DLC, both of which will be added to the Xbox Game Pass offering on November 5, Microsoft announced during the Tokyo Game Show. But that may not be the end of the franchise’s future.
On the Unlocked podcast, Bloomberg editor Jason Schreier talked about his new book and shared some stories about Blizzard. For example, that the Starcraft IP is being turned into a shooter game under the direction of Dan Hay. He was previously the director responsible for Far Cry. There have been two similar projects from the franchise. The first was StarCraft: Ghost, which was announced by Blizzard in 2002. Development was delayed and then handed over to Swingin’ Ape Studios before being acquired by Blizzard, and finally in 2014, Blizzard president Mike Morhaime announced that the game had been canceled. Then there was Starcraft: Ares (codename!), which was in development from 2017 to June 2019.
The podcast participants all say the third time is the charm. According to Schreier, the latest concept is still in development, and when he finished his book (Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment; due out October 8), it was still in that status. While his book isn’t about revealing secrets about the studio’s future games, he included this one because he sees it as an interesting nugget of information, as he believes Blizzard can’t stop trying to revive its franchises with new games.
We’ll see if StarCraft’s shooter really does get it right for the third attempt… or if it ends up in the trash.
