Blizzcon 2021 is now formally underway, and the event’s opening ceremony has just concluded. The team at Blizzard made a big show of both new games and upcoming content, but one high-profile series was notably absent from the presentation. That’s right: Another Blizzcon has come and gone without any mention of a new Starcraft game.
At this point, it’s hard to understand why. Starcraft is one of three franchises — along with Warcraft and Diablo — that form the very foundation of Blizzard Entertainment. Diablo is getting a new entry in the form of Diablo 4, and Warcraft is still getting vast lore expansions in both World of Warcraft and Hearthstone. Yet there’s still no mention of the fan-favorite strategy series.
It’s a little hard to believe that the last full-fledged Starcraft game came out over a decade ago. Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty did at least get a few expansions throughout the years, but it seems like all further development simply halted in 2015. It took another two years after that to release Starcraft: Remastered. And even though the series still has an active competitive scene, Blizzard just isn’t showing it the same love it shows to other franchises. If the team waits any longer, it’s possible that even dedicated followers will move on to other games.
It’s not like Blizzard is simply ignoring the RTS crowd, either. 2020 saw the release of Warcraft 3: Reforged, which… didn’t exactly go well. The game was plagued with launch issues and really didn’t do much to satisfy strategy fans. Though interest in retro remasters was there, the game simply didn’t hold up to expectations. Now, instead of another RTS re-release, we’re getting an updated version of Diablo in Diablo 2: Resurrected.
Frankly, it’s all a bit odd. Real-time strategy fans helped build Blizzard to what it is today thanks largely to games like Starcraft. The studio’s RTS formula was, at least then, second to none. And yet here we are, waiting a decade for a new Starcraft game only to be given a rehash of Warcraft 3 from 2002.
Listen up, Blizzard: You’ve been sitting on Starcraft for too long. It’s time for a new Starcraft game. Even if you simply remaster the second release, just give us something. Barring anything else, at least reveal some sort of ideas you may have to the dedicated players keeping the war between Zerg, Protoss, and Terrans alive.
