Blizzard may be going into co-op mode for another shot at making one of its biggest franchises into a shooter. A new report out of South Korea, claims that Nexon has begun “full-scale development” on a StarCraft-based shooter, marking what could be the latest — and hopefully most concrete — attempt to transform the long-running RTS franchise into a first- or third-person experience.
The report, published by The Korea Economic Daily, states that Nexon signed a content development agreement with Blizzard last year and has since assembled a dedicated team within its shooter division. The project is reportedly being led by well-known StarCraft modder Choi Jun-ho, with new hires brought in specifically to support development.
Arc Raiders/Nexon
Blizzard has not publicly confirmed the partnership.
The existence of a StarCraft shooter already in development was first revealed in 2024 by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier in his book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment. According to Schreier, that internal Blizzard project is being helmed by Dan Hay, the former Far Cry executive producer who left Ubisoft in 2021 after overseeing the franchise during one of its most commercially successful eras.
However, Schreier has since suggested that the Nexon-led project described in the Korean report is likely unrelated to the shooter detailed in his book. If accurate, that would mean Blizzard is backing at least two separate StarCraft shooter efforts — one internal and one external.
For Nexon, the move would align with its growing investment in the global shooter market. The publisher owns Embark Studios, the Stockholm-based studio behind The Finals and Arc Raiders, both of which have strengthened its presence in Western markets.
Still, history urges caution. Blizzard has attempted to branch StarCraft into shooters multiple times before. StarCraft: Ghost, announced in 2002 as a tactical-action console title, was ultimately canceled in 2006 after years of delays. A second effort, codenamed StarCraft: Ares and reportedly described internally as “like Battlefield in the StarCraft universe,” was scrapped in 2019 as resources shifted to Diablo IV and Overwatch 2.
If both the Nexon collaboration and Blizzard’s internal project are indeed active, they would represent at least the third and fourth serious attempts to bring a StarCraft shooter to life.
Adding further intrigue, a recent report from Windows Central claims that StarCraft could play a major role at September’s BlizzCon, potentially alongside new expansions for Diablo IV and World of Warcraft. Whether that appearance relates to one — or both — of the rumored shooter projects remains to be seen.
For now, Blizzard appears to be committing more resources than ever to finally landing a StarCraft shooter — but as past cancellations have shown, until something is formally unveiled, even a well-funded build order can still be canceled before completion.
What do you make of the reports that a new StarCraft shooter is in development at Nexon, publisher of Arc Raiders? Are you excited by the idea, or waiting for Blizzard to make it official before getting your hopes up?
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