According to details shared in journalist Jason Schreier's new book on Blizzard Entertainment, the company may be developing of a new StarCraft shooter. Speaking on the IGN's Unlocked podcast, Schreier mentioned learning of a StarCraft shooter project currently being led by Dan Hay, the Executive Director of Far Cry at Ubisoft.
If this is correct, it would be the third attempt Blizzard had made at crafting a shooter set within the StarCraft universe. The first was StarCraft: Ghost, announced back in 2002 as a stealth-action title. After numerous delays, development shifted hands between various studios before being officially scrapped in 2014. The other codenamed project, titled StarCraft: Ares, had also been in internal development since 2017 before being axed by mid-2019.
Despite two failed previous efforts, it seems Blizzard is unwilling to give up on the idea of a StarCraft shooter. However, as Schreier noted, none of the podcast participants had much faith the current project would release, given the studio's track record. According to information the journalist had at the time of finishing his book, set for an October 8 release, the shooter was still in production internally.
The mixed development history of StarCraft shooters reveals Blizzard's consistent ambition to take its most storied RTS franchise into other genres. But organizational challenges and shifting visions have repeatedly derailed such ambitions. Blizzard faces high expectations for success with any new IP.
While StarCraft has fallen by the wayside in recent years as Blizzard continued work on other games, the series received renewed attention recently. During the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2024 presentation, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer revealed that StarCraft Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection are coming to PC Game Pass on November 5, 2024.
What do you think of the StarCraft shooter rumor? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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