For a long time, it was quiet in the world of Starcraft, but after a long time, there is now a sign of life from the sci-fi brand. Now it seems that Nexon is confirmed as the developer of a new game, but that may not be the only Blizzard IP that has been snagged.
What is happening with a new Starcraft? As early as the beginning of April, Korean media reported that several developers and publishers from South Korea were in talks to develop a new game in the Starcraft universe.
These included NCsoft, Krafton, Netmarble, and Nexon. The pitch round seems to have been won by Nexon, as reported by the Korean website MTN. Nexon is best known for the MMORPGs MapleStory and Dungeon Fighter Online – which are among the most successful genre representatives of all time.
But they didn’t just secure the Starcraft IP. According to the report, they have also secured the Korean and Japanese rights for an Overwatch Mobile
.
To this day, the two Starcraft parts are loved by players:
A new Overwatch as a MOBA?
What will these games be like? According to MTN, there were no requirements for the genre when awarding the Starcraft IP. It is still unclear whether the game will once again be a real-time strategy title or if they will use the universe for a different type of game. The last game in the franchise was the add-on Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void in 2015. The last major sign of life from Starcraft was in the card game Hearthstone.
With Overwatch Mobile
, however, they seem to know more. The game was reportedly internally referred to by the bidding publishers as Overwatch 3
, but it is not supposed to be a shooter. According to the report, “Overwatch Mobile” is to be a MOBA for mobile platforms and developed by Blizzard itself.
Nexon has secured the rights to distribute the game in Japan and Korea. Mobile MOBAs are extremely popular in Asian countries. One of the largest is Honor of Kings, which will also be released in Germany in 2024.
When these games are expected to be released is currently unknown.
Many fans of both brands will likely be skeptical about how the new projects will proceed. The criticism from the player base was huge during Diablo Immortal. Nevertheless, the mobile hack & slash has been quite successful after just one year: Germans claim they hate Diablo Immortal, yet they spend more money on it than the British, French, and Spanish combined.
