Blizzard Entertainment has announced that the next StarCraft title will shift from real-time strategy to an open-world first-person shooter.
Revealed at BlizzCon 2026, the third installment in the franchise, titled StarCraft, is scheduled for release in 2030. Blizzard general manager and vice president Dan Hay leads the project.
In an interview with IGN, Hay explained the team’s decision to pursue an open-world format: “For us, when we think about the themes and we think about the opportunity for you to be on the battlefield and for you to go out and think about the vista, the opportunity to explore, and then to discover, and then to disrupt.”
“It’s incredibly unique. And then when you think about the different factions that there are, we just wanted people to go out into these worlds and actually get a sense of what it’s like to meet these different groups.”
In a separate interview with Korean media (via PC Gamer), Hay stated that players will be able to “create a character, name them, and follow that character’s story. The story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.”
“You can roam around and explore a rich open world, but our story has a definitive ending. Think of it as purchasing a standalone boxed game, playing it, and experiencing its story. We hope players enjoy it, love it, and return to us later. At the very least, what we are building right now is not a seasonal game.”
StarCraft’s 2030 release will be the franchise’s first new title since StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void, which launched in 2015. The original StarCraft debuted in 1998.
Blizzard has previously attempted to develop a StarCraft FPS twice. The first, StarCraft Ghost, was announced in 2002 but cancelled in 2006 after delays. Another project, codenamed Ares, was cancelled in 2019 to prioritise Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.
Of course, StarCraft was not the only major announcement from this year’s BlizzCon.
Diablo 5 was announced for spring 2029, along with new content for Diablo 4. Netflix is also developing an animated Diablo series.
Blizzard also announced World of Warcraft: Forever, a remastered and expanded version of the original game featuring three new zones, over 1,000 new quests, nine dungeons, two raids, and the new Skyborne race.
World of Warcraft: Forever’s beta begins September 17, with the full release scheduled for November 4.