Blizzard Entertainment, known for its iconic real-time strategy game StarCraft, is reportedly making a third attempt at developing a shooter set in the StarCraft universe. This news comes from Jason Schreier's upcoming book PLAY NICE: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, and was further discussed in a recent IGN podcast.
Third Time's the Charm?
Blizzard's history with StarCraft shooters has been tumultuous, to say the least. The company's first attempt, StarCraft: Ghost, was announced in 2002 but canceled in 2006 after numerous delays. A second project, codenamed Ares and described as Battlefield in the StarCraft universe, met a similar fate in 2019.
Now, it seems Blizzard is ready to give it another shot. The project is reportedly being led by Dan Hay, a veteran of the Far Cry series who joined Blizzard in 2022 as GM/VP. Hay's extensive experience with first-person shooters could potentially give this new attempt a fighting chance.
Project Details Remain Scarce
While the existence of the project has been leaked, concrete details about the game itself are still unknown. The project is described as being in the incubation phase, suggesting it's still in early development.
Blizzard's Commitment to StarCraft
This new project, if it comes to fruition, could signal Blizzard's renewed interest in the StarCraft franchise. The recent addition of StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection to Xbox Game Pass further supports this notion.
Cautious Optimism
Given Blizzard's track record with StarCraft shooters, fans and industry observers are likely to approach this news with cautious optimism. As Schreier noted in the IGN podcast, This is Blizzard after all. Their history with StarCraft shooters is not good.
Only time will tell if this third attempt will finally bring the long-awaited StarCraft shooter to fruition, or if it will join its predecessors in the annals of canceled projects. For now, StarCraft fans can only wait and hope that Blizzard has indeed found the right formula this time around.