The StarCraft IP has been largely in hibernation since StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm (save for a nice crossover in Blizzard’s online card game HearthStone), though that may be coming to an end in the coming years. After a hard-fought battle over IP rights, it looks like Nexon has won the right to create a new game in the series against other massive Korean companies.
As reported by MTN, Nexon will be working alongside Blizzard to create new content in the StarCraft IP. It also secured the service rights to Overwatch Mobile in Japan and Korea, which is a potentially valuable prize. In terms of what other video game companies that Nexon beat for the rights, there were some Korean giants like NC Soft and Netmarble also keen to play around with StarCraft and Overwatch Mobile.
This bidding war has been ongoing since Q4 of last year, during which different companies came to Blizzard with various proposals on what each would do with StarCraft IP upon earning the rights to play around with the IP. It’s worth noting that, according to MTN, there’s no RTS genre lock for the IP, meaning Nexon will be free to make something totally fresh for the series. StarCraft Ghost, anyone?
With that being said, the extensive history and popularity of StarCraft in Korea must be acknowledged. The RTS proved incredibly exciting for Korean gamers, leading to what was essentially the first big-budget esports scene focused entirely around StarCraft. Even today, people still play StarCraft Brood War in Korea! It really is the hub for the IP in terms of interest.
But, looking at Nexon’s library of games, there’s some real variety there. The creator of MapleStory and Blue Archive has dipped its toe into a variety of genres thanks to a mix of in-house development and external publishing. Blue Archive is itself an strategy game of sorts (though not a traditional RTS), so maybe the company’s experience with that game will help with future StarCraft projects. That is, if Nexon decides to keep it faithful and make an RTS!
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