On May 24, 2025, reputable insider Jason Schreier reported in an interview with IGN that Blizzard Entertainment was working on a new game set in theStarCraftuniverse. Unlike the previous real-time strategy entries in the series, this one was apparently a shooter of some kind. Schreier claimed that thisStarCraftshooter was being helmed by Dan Hay, a former Ubisoft employee who had previously worked on theFar Cryfranchise. After serving as an executive producer on multipleFCgames, including fan favorites likeFar Cry 3andFar Cry 5, Hay allegedly left Ubisoft and joined Blizzard as General Manager/Vice President in 2022 to work on this unannounced title.
Over the next few weeks, more evidence of this rumoredStarCraftshooter began to pile up. In November,Blizzard posted a job listing on its official websitethat revealed that it was working on an “upcoming open-world shooter.” While this ad didn’t explicitly mentionStarCraftby name, many fans were quick to theorize that this shooter and the game Jason Schreier had reported on were one and the same. On top of that, a new rating for an unnamedStarCraftgame briefly appeared on the ESRB website earlier this month, adding further credence to the claims that Blizzard was working on somethingSC-related. If there really is a newStarCraftshooter in development, then its release may break two major streaks for the storied RTS franchise in one go.
Blizzard’s Rumored StarCraft Shooter May Be a First for the Franchise in Multiple Ways
Blizzard Tried to Make StarCraft Shooters Before, But Its Attempts Were Unsuccessful
While the idea of aStarCraftshooter has been floated around before, nothing has really come of it yet. During the early 2000s,Blizzard attempted to release a game calledStarCraft: Ghost, which was a third-person shooter spin-off of theSCfranchise designed specifically for home consoles (e.g. the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube). However, this game was being developed not by Blizzard Entertainment itself, but rather by Nihilistic Software, the company best known for its work onVampire the Masquerade: Redemption,Resistance: Burning Skies, andConan(2007).StarCraft: Ghostwas originally meant to launch in late 2003, but after several delays and a change in developers, it was infamously canceled in 2014.
Nihilistic Software ceased development onStarCraft: Ghostin 2004. Afterward, the project was handed over to Swingin' Ape Studios, a company that was eventually bought and absorbed by Blizzard Entertainment in 2005.
Blizzard tried to create a newStarCraftshooter again in the late 2010s.TheStarCraftgame in question was codenamedAresand, unlikeStarCraft: Ghost, it was an FPS instead of a TPS. Very little was revealed aboutAres, other than the fact that it was supposed to feature Zerg aliens and Terran marines, but it was scrapped in 2019 because Blizzard prioritized its efforts onOverwatchandDiabloat the time. If this game had been released, it would’ve been the first non-RTS installment in theStarCraftfranchise. It’s unfortunate thatAresnever saw the light of day, but the recently rumoredStarCraftshooter in development at Blizzard may be able to make history nonetheless by filling its place.
The Rumored StarCraft Shooter May Be the First SC Game in 15+ Years
Speaking of making history, ifthis newStarCraftshooterever comes out, it will be the first game released in theSCseries in approximately 15 years. After all, the last original installment in the beloved RTS franchisewasStarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty,which came out back in 2010. Although Blizzard did supportStarCraft 2with consistent content updates and paid expansions for several years, it hasn’t released a standalone follow-up to the title, whether that be a real-time strategy game or a third-person shooter. Taking all this into account, Blizzard’s rumoredStarCraftshooter has the potential to be a true game-changer for the series. Not only may it introduce the IP to a new audience by being in a wider, more mainstream genre, but it may also give theStarCraftseries a much-needed revival.
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