Four major South Korean game companies are fighting to win the rights to develop new StarCraft games.
According to Korean news outlet Asia Today, NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble, and Krafton have jumped into a heated competition to grab development and publishing rights for new games based on Blizzard’s iconic series.
This competition shows that StarCraft’s popularity is still going strong, especially in South Korea where the game has reached legendary status since it first launched in 1998.
The contract these companies are fighting for includes the ability to develop StarCraft games across various genres, including RPGs and shooters, plus worldwide publishing rights.
Some of these Korean developers have even made the trip to Blizzard’s California headquarters to pitch their ideas, hoping to stand out from the crowd.
Asia Today reports that “Blizzard is looking for game companies with strong development skills, publishing experience, and global marketing reach.” They’re being careful about who gets to handle their famous StarCraft brand and are taking a close look at each company’s proposals.
Each Korean gaming powerhouse brings something different to the table. NCSoft is known for its expertise in developing MMORPGs like the Lineage series and is reportedly a frontrunner for creating RPG games set in the StarCraft universe.
Netmarble, known for mobile games like Marvel Future Fight and Lineage 2: Revolution, plans to leverage its mobile gaming experience to bring StarCraft to smartphone platforms.’
Nexon, which just released its biggest action RPG The First Berserker: Khazan last week, want to use their experience with successful global games.
Krafton, the company behind PUBG, is focusing on their development expertise for a new StarCraft experience, though a company spokesperson didn’t confirm their involvement.
What’s interesting is that while these Korean companies duke it out for licensing rights, Blizzard itself is already working on a new StarCraft game. Last September, a journalist Schreier revealed that Blizzard has been developing a StarCraft shooter since around late 2022, with Dan Hay at the helm, who previously directed several Far Cry games.
If both reports are on the money, StarCraft fans might see several new games in the next few years, breathing new life into a franchise that hasn’t had a fresh release since 2010.
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