Exciting news for fans of the iconic sci-fi franchise: Blizzard is reportedly receiving a flurry of pitches from Korean studios eager to expand the StarCraft universe. According to Asia Today, four prominent Korean companies—NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton—are vying for the opportunity to develop new games based on the StarCraft IP and secure publishing rights. Some of these studios have even made the journey to Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, to present their innovative proposals.

NCSoft, the powerhouse behind the Lineage and Guild Wars MMOs, is rumored to be crafting a StarCraft RPG, potentially an MMORPG. Nexon, known for The First Descendant, has pitched a "unique" take on the StarCraft IP. Meanwhile, Netmarble, creators of Solo Leveling: Arise and Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, is eyeing a StarCraft mobile game. Lastly, Krafton, the minds behind PUBG and inZOI, aims to leverage their development prowess for a new StarCraft game.

While pitches for game development are commonplace in the industry, the buzz around these proposals is significant, especially given the time since the last StarCraft release. Activision Blizzard has remained tight-lipped on the matter, declining to comment when approached by IGN.

Adding to the excitement, Blizzard is reportedly making another attempt at developing a StarCraft shooter. Led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022, this marks the third effort to bring a StarCraft FPS to life. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier highlighted this project during an appearance on IGN's Podcast Unlocked, discussing his book, "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment." Despite Blizzard's rocky history with StarCraft shooters, Schreier confirmed that the project was in development at the time of his book's writing.

Blizzard's previous attempts at StarCraft shooters, including the infamous StarCraft Ghost and the canceled Ares project, have been fraught with challenges. StarCraft Ghost, announced in 2002, aimed to be a tactical-action console game but was ultimately canceled in 2006. Similarly, Ares, described as "like Battlefield in the StarCraft universe," was scrapped in 2019 to focus on other major titles like Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.

Recent developments suggest a renewed focus on the franchise. In November, Blizzard posted job listings for an "upcoming open-world shooter game," hinting at another StarCraft FPS. Furthermore, Blizzard has released StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Campaign Collection on Game Pass and announced a crossover with the Warcraft card game Hearthstone, signaling a gradual ramp-up of StarCraft's presence in the gaming world.