StarCraft has been somewhat neglected lately, but a new rumor suggests that could change dramatically this year.

Last month, Blizzard Entertainment announced that it would host four showcase events for its biggest active franchises to update players on each series’ future plans. We’ve already seen showcases for World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Hearthstone, with a Diablo showcase coming at the end of the week. StarCraft, however, is missing from the list. It has been years since we last saw a new mainline release in the StarCraft series.

Back in April, when we heard that Nexon would be making the franchise’s next game, it wasn’t clear what direction the series would take. The assumption was that the studio would deliver another real-time strategy (RTS) title – not only because StarCraft is traditionally an RTS franchise, but also because the genre remains particularly popular in South Korea, where Nexon is based.

Then last month, Windows Central pointed to a StarCraft-based third-person shooter as a potential main attraction at BlizzCon, though it didn’t indicate who was behind it, beyond the assumption that it was Blizzard. Now, Korea Economic Daily appears to be referring to Nexon’s upcoming StarCraft project, and the rumor is that the TPS game is the same one. The project is reportedly being developed at Nexon’s shooter-focused development center, which would suggest it is not an RTS.

All of this should be treated with caution, especially since Blizzard has not confirmed that a new StarCraft game is in development at all. What we do know is that Blizzard has hinted that this year’s BlizzCon will be historic, and there’s also Windows Central’s reporting alongside Jason Schreier’s 2024 Bloomberg piece claiming Blizzard has been working on a StarCraft shooter.

If Blizzard is indeed developing its own StarCraft shooter in parallel with the shooter allegedly being developed by Nexon, then the next two games set in the StarCraft universe could both be shooters, while the franchise’s next RTS remains uncertain.

Hopefully BlizzCon will answer everything – unless Blizzard talks sooner. The event takes place on September 12 and 13, meaning StarCraft fans still have a few months to wait before learning what comes next.

Source: WCCFTech, Korea Economic Daily