Blizzard Entertainment has officially brought back the StarCraft franchise with an unexpected genre pivot. Unveiled during the BlizzCon opening ceremony in Anaheim California, the upcoming project will be an original open world shooter set in the iconic universe. Players will have to remain patient because the release is slated for 2030.
Blizzard is finally answering years of community requests, but not in the way many anticipated. Rather than building another traditional real time strategy title, the studio is taking the series into large scale action. The shift to an open world format marks the biggest conceptual gamble for the franchise since its debut. Fans in the arena reacted immediately as the development team delivered a classic callback from the stage.
Development on the project is clearly in its early stages. Targeting a launch window 4 years out in 2030 indicates that Blizzard is giving the production team substantial runway to build the massive world. Detailed mechanics and supported platforms remain unannounced for now. Even so, the confirmation alone proves that StarCraft remains a central priority for Blizzard as the company charts its next era of releases.
