Blizzard is reportedly receiving numerous pitches for brand new StarCraft video video games from Korean studios.

In an article delivered to the web’s consideration by X / Twitter account @KoreaXboxnews, Asia At this time listed 4 Korean firms who’re reportedly competing with one another to develop new video games based mostly on the StarCraft IP and safe publishing rights: NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton. Apparently a few of these firms have traveled to Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine, California, to make their pitches.

NCSoft, which is behind the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, is claimed to have pitched a StarCraft RPG of some form (an MMORPG?). Nexon, maker of The First Descendant, has pitched a “distinctive” use of the StarCraft IP. Netmarble (Solo Leveling: Come up, Recreation of Thrones: Kingsroad) is hoping to make a StarCraft cellular recreation. And Krafton, the corporate behind battle royale PUBG and The Sims competitor inZOI, needs to make a StarCraft recreation “based mostly by itself improvement capabilities.”

In fact, online game firms pitch different online game firms on a regular basis in the case of securing publishing rights and improvement contracts. And it might be the case that nothing talked about right here goes anyplace. However StarCraft followers will definitely be aware of Blizzard’s reported curiosity in doing… one thing to develop the much-loved sci-fi universe, given how lengthy it’s been because the final recreation within the franchise got here out. Activision Blizzard declined to remark when contacted by IGN.

It’s value remembering that in September, it emerged that Blizzard was making a 3rd try at growing a StarCraft shooter, with former Far Cry govt producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022, main the cost.

The information got here from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier whereas chatting with IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, beneath, about his current guide, Play Good: The Rise, Fall, and Way forward for Blizzard Leisure. Hay’s StarCraft shooter is talked about within the guide, and IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey requested Schreier if it’s more likely to truly come out.

“If it’s not canceled!” Schreier replied. “That is Blizzard in spite of everything. Their historical past with StarCraft shooters just isn’t good.

“Sure, that may be a venture that so far as I do know is in improvement, or at the very least as of the time that I wrote this guide was in improvement. They’re engaged on a StarCraft shooter, StarCraft just isn’t lifeless at Blizzard.

“The purpose of the guide isn’t to get a bunch of scoops about upcoming issues. That wasn’t the aim of this guide in any respect, it was very a lot to inform a narrative and concentrate on stuff that had occurred. However this felt like such an attention-grabbing and helpful nugget to incorporate as a result of it actually simply exhibits you that Blizzard can not give up StarCraft shooters.”

That was a reference to Blizzard’s notorious try to launch a StarCraft shooter prior to now as a part of a bid to develop the StarCraft franchise past its real-time technique origins. StarCraft Ghost, introduced in 2002, was going to be a tactical-action console recreation wherein you performed as a lethal Ghost operative within the make use of of the Dominion, nevertheless it was canceled in 2006 after a sequence of delays.

A second try to make a StarCraft shooter, codenamed Ares, was canceled in 2019 so Blizzard may concentrate on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. Ares was reportedly “like Battlefield within the StarCraft universe,” however, like Ghost, fell by the wayside.

Extra lately, in November, Blizzard was noticed hiring for an “upcoming open-world shooter recreation,” with all indicators pointing to it being a StarCraft FPS.

Issues are slowly ramping up for StarCraft. Blizzard lately launched StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Marketing campaign Assortment on Recreation Go, and introduced a StarCraft crossover with Warcraft card recreation Hearthstone.

Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You possibly can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.