A new report suggests a new StarCraft development could be on the horizon, but a deal between Blizzard Entertainment and NEXON hasn’t been formally reached yet.
Despite Blizzard Entertainment’s complete lack of development updates, the StarCraft franchise remains a hot topic among RTS players and fans. These fans continue to hold fast to the hope that a third mainline entry will be released, and it appears developers know there is interest.
The hope for more incursions in the Koprulu Sector has just expanded today, as a new report has surfaced from Chosun (a daily Korean newspaper) detailing NEXON’s proposed plans to acquire the IP rights to publish a sequel. As it stands, it has been over 10 years since StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void launched, and Blizzard has made no reported strides toward a new development in the franchise during that time.
Chosun reports that NEXON is pushing to acquire content development rights for the real-time strategy game StarCraft. Chosun states “although nearly 30 years have passed since its release, StarCraft still maintains a ranking around the top 10 most popular games on Korean PC” which would make this a major acquisition for NEXON. Chosun then reports a senior industry official stated on Sept 2, “The StarCraft IP contract between NEXON and Blizzard is on the verge of being finalized,” adding that once the contract terms are drawn and completed, NEXON will be able to publish an official sequel.
The last words on any StarCraft development were the rumours surrounding an FPS spin-off, and the shooter was reportedly being led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard Entertainment in 2022. Job openings on the Blizzard website led to even more speculation about a potential title set in the Koprulu Sector, but after years of rumours and fan speculation, all the excitement has amounted to unrequited cope. The franchise continues to have its can kicked down the street through rumours, and no concrete developments have followed.
It has officially been 16 years since StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty launched, and since then, many rumours about developments in the franchise have amounted to nothing. So fans should take this news with a grain of salt until NEXON, Blizzard Entertainment, or a new trailer makes a formal announcement.
