"New StarCraft Game Pitches from Korean Developers to Blizzard"

Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly receiving a flurry of pitches from Korean studios eager to expand the beloved StarCraft universe. According to an article highlighted by the X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia Today revealed that four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are vying to develop new StarCraft games and secure the coveted publishing rights. Representatives from these studios have even traveled to Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their innovative ideas.

NCSoft, renowned for its Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, is proposing a StarCraft RPG, possibly an MMORPG. Nexon, the creator of The First Descendant, has pitched a "unique" take on the StarCraft IP. Netmarble, known for titles like Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, is aiming to bring StarCraft to mobile platforms. Meanwhile, Krafton, the powerhouse behind PUBG and the upcoming The Sims competitor inZOI, is looking to leverage its development expertise to craft a StarCraft game.

While pitches between video game companies are commonplace, the interest from Blizzard in expanding the StarCraft franchise is noteworthy, especially given the time elapsed since the last game in the series. Activision Blizzard has declined to comment on these developments when approached by IGN.

It's also worth noting that Blizzard has been making strides in other areas of the StarCraft universe. In September, it was revealed that Blizzard is working on a third attempt at 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 during an appearance on IGN's Podcast Unlocked, discussing his book, "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment."

Schreier mentioned that the StarCraft shooter project, while in development at the time of his book's writing, faces the uncertainty typical of Blizzard's history with such projects. Blizzard's previous attempts at StarCraft shooters, including the canceled StarCraft Ghost in 2006 and the codenamed Ares project in 2019, have not been successful. The latter was reportedly akin to "Battlefield in the StarCraft universe" but was shelved to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.

More recently, in November, Blizzard was seen hiring for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," with indications pointing towards it being a StarCraft FPS. Additionally, Blizzard has been actively engaging with the StarCraft community by releasing StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass and announcing a crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone.

These developments signal a renewed interest and potential expansion of the StarCraft universe, much to the excitement of its dedicated fanbase.