Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has lastly gone via, and a report suggests this might imply huge issues for beloved Blizzard franchises mendacity dormant like StarCraft.
In an interview from BlizzCon 2023 posted to Bloomberg on Nov. 6 by Jason Schreier, Blizzard CEO Mike Ybarra defined that if somebody got here to him with the “imaginative and prescient and fervour” wanted to revitalize StarCraft, he’d “wager on that workforce,” however that he’s not merely saying “go make a StarCraft recreation.”
Schreier wrote on X, previously Twitter, on the identical day that “the subsequent StarCraft recreation will not be an RTS.” Followers count on Blizzard to have extra autonomy going ahead, so we’re excited to see what the long run holds for the franchise.
Ybarra additionally mentioned that below Microsoft, Blizzard’s “decision-making needs to be sooner.” John Hight, Warcraft basic supervisor, defined Microsoft was “not right here to inform [them] what to do,” however moderately to supply assist the place wanted, which was “superior.”
StarCraft 2 launched in 2010 and acquired its final main content material replace in 2016 with Nova Covert Ops, leaving the franchise dormant for the final seven years. The primary StarCraft launched in 1998 and helped set up the esports scene that we all know and love at the moment, so it’s not stunning followers are eager to see its return.
Schrier defined in his Bloomberg interview that many skilled Blizzard workers members departed the corporate below Kotick, significantly these with experience in growing technique video games like StarCraft, which is why the subsequent installment could stray from the franchise’s RTS roots.
We almost noticed StarCraft delivered to life as a third-person shooter in StarCraft Ghost, an formidable venture introduced in 2002 however canceled shortly after. The foundations are already there for StarCraft to make its return, be that as an RTS or in any other case, and I for one can’t wait to see what the long run holds.
