RTS players have all wondered whether there’s hope for a StarCraft 3, but what’s the official word on the series at this point?
The original StarCraft is one of the biggest video games of all time. The popularity of Brood War in Korea was so great that its tournaments became the stuff of legends, and still stand as some of the biggest esports events ever. StarCraft 2 was a major AAA release in its own right, garnering strong critical acclaim and selling millions of units in its first few months.
Unfortunately for fans, the last release in the series came in 2017 with a remaster of the original StarCraft. So has Blizzard forgotten about the franchise? And is there any hope of a StarCraft 3 at this point?
StarCraft Remastered Announcement
Blizzard CEO Mike Ybarra hinted that a StarCraft 3 might happen, but there are no defined plans for when it may come out or what kind of game it will be.
Speaking with Bloomberg in 2023, Ybarra touched upon the idea of a new StarCraft game. To be generous, his statements regarding the title did not inspire hope in longtime StarCraft fans.
“It’s not me saying, ‘go make a StarCraft game.’ I need to have someone who has the vision and passion that comes with the idea, and I’ll bet on that team,” Ybarra said when discussing Blizzard’s approach to game development.
Because of Blizzard’s current approach, a return to the StarCraft franchise might not actually be a real-time strategy game. Many of the key personnel from the development of Warcraft 3, StarCraft, and StarCraft 2 have departed Blizzard over the last several years.
Layoffs by Activision and Microsoft have seen Blizzard’s talent pool reduced significantly. Most of the company’s efforts focus on maintaining live-service games Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and World of Warcraft. Creating a new AAA real-time strategy game like StarCraft 3 isn’t something Blizzard is well-equipped for at this point.
Ybarra’s statement suggests that the next StarCraft game may not be a real-time strategy game. The idea that Ybarra needs to have faith in a specific team at Blizzard to revive StarCraft suggests hints at a potential new direction for the franchise.
StarCraft: Ghost PlayStation 2 Trailer – E3 2005 Trailer 01
This conjures up memories of StarCraft: Ghost, a third-person shooter announced in 2002 but unceremoniously canceled. To turn the tables on a 2019 report, an offshoot of the Overwatch 2 team making a StarCraft shooter, or the Diablo team making an Alien Swarm-style shoot ‘em up, is perhaps more likely than a StarCraft 3 RTS.
The best hope for StarCraft fans may lie outside Blizzard. Microsoft now owns the rights to StarCraft and the company is making PC-only games such as Ara: History Untold. Microsoft has not announced any plans to revive the franchise, however.
For the time being, StarCraft 2 still exists and its esports scene is still supported by select tournament organizers and organizations. That may have to tide fans over for the time being as it’s still unclear when or if a StarCraft 3 might come to be, or what it might look like.
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