Blizzard could be targeting Call of Duty with rumoured StarCraft shooter
Following the success of Space Marine 2, could a StarCraft shooter give Call of Duty a run for its money?
27th Sep 2024 11:30
Images via Blizzard | Activision
Blizzard could be targeting Call of Duty with rumoured StarCraft shooter
Following the success of Space Marine 2, could a StarCraft shooter give Call of Duty a run for its money?
27th Sep 2024 11:30
Images via Blizzard | Activision
When you hear the words shooter and Blizzard Entertainment, you tend to think of Overwatch. When you hear the words shooter and Activision, you tend to think of Call of Duty. But, what if a new upstart tried to challenge them both? We know we've been here before, but apparently, Blizzard is working on a StarCraft shooter.
As Overwatch and World of Warcraft rule supreme, StarCraft is a sometimes forgotten IP of Blizzard's back catalogue. We've not had a (full) new StarCraft game since StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty launched in 2010, with the last general release being 2017's StarCraft: Remastered. Finally, we could be taking the series in another direction.
Former Far Cry boss reportedly working on a StarCraft shooter
Speaking on IGN's Unlocked podcast, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier discussed his upcoming book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, And Future Of Blizzard Entertainment. The book dives deep into Blizzard and claims the developer is currently working on a StarCraft shooter under the supervision of former Far Cry boss Dan Hay.
Host Ryan McCaffrey highlighted a particular section of Schreier's book and a claim that Blizzard is 'incubating' a StarCraft shooter. Schreier explained, "They are working on a StarCraft shooter. StarCraft is not dead at Blizzard." This will be music to the ears of StarCraft fans who feared the worst.
Schreier added, "If it’s not cancelled, this is Blizzard after all, and their history with StarCraft shooters is not good. That is a project that, as far as I know, is in development, at least as of the time that I wrote this book."
Hay had previously worked on Blizzard's survival game, Odyssey, but earlier this year, Schreier confirmed it had been axed after six years of development. This is a recurring theme with Blizzard games, and remember, it's already been a tough time getting StarCraft shooters off the ground.
If this new project is moving forward, it would be the third attempt. The most infamous is StarCraft: Ghost, which was announced in 2002 but eventually kicked the bucket in 2006. Blizzard later blamed the success of World of Warcraft for Ghost's death, and over the years, various snippets have made their way online.
There was also the codenamed Ares, which was supposed to be "like Battlefield in the StarCraft universe" but was apparently given the boot in 2019. Although there are no further details on what form this mystery third try will take, just imagine a StarCraft first-person shooter.
Activision Blizzard King recently joined the ranks of Microsoft, and with Call of Duty showing no signs of slowing down, could a StarCraft shooter be Blizzard's answer to the CoDverse? Remembering the massive success of Focus Entertainment's StarCraft-esque Space Marine 2, Blizzard would be wise to strike while the iron is hot.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
