There very well could be two new StarCraft games on the horizon, only one of them might not be made by Blizzard. According to a report in South Korean newspaper Chosun (via Wccftech) Arc Raiders publisher Nexon is working on securing a license to develop a new StarCraft game. A quote from a “senior gaming official” suggests that a contract between Nexon and Blizzard regarding the StarCraft IP is close to being finalized. Dang.
It’s been almost 30 years since the original StarCraft was released in 1998. And although StarCraft II and StarCraft: Remastered came out in 2010 and 2017 respectively, gamers of a certain age probably feel like it’s been a small eternity since Blizzard’s really done anything meaningful with one of its most celebrated franchises. However, StarCraft‘s star has not diminished in Korea. According to Chosun, the game still ranks in the top 10 most-played games in internet cafes, a stat Nexon likely wants to capitalize on by working with Blizzard to develop a new game.
But this news comes with a big ‘ole asterisk for gamers concerned about the usage of genAI in development. Nexon’s CEO Junghun Lee was the guy who said not that long ago that you should assume every game company is using it and claimed the tech has “improved efficiency in both game production and live service operations.” Perhaps Blizzard, in this potential licensing deal, might include some stipulations against genAI usage in order to head-off any potential controversy.
In the meantime, Blizzard is reportedly working on its own StarCraft spin-off. The project is said to be an open-world shooter and while it doesn’t sound close to coming out, we might still get a glimpse of it at BlizzCon 2026 later this month.
Kotaku has reached out to Blizzard for comment.