StarCraft 3: Will We Ever Get A Sequel?

Blizzard Entertainment started with small titles like The Lost Vikings, Rock n' Roll Racing, and Blackthorne. The company didn't truly find its niche in the video game industry until Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, which it originally envisioned as a licensed Warhammer game. Fast forward about four years, and Blizzard launched StarCraft, a game similar to Warcraft yet oh so different. StarCraft became one of the leading RTS titles on the market, even surpassing it's older Warcraft brother, until StarCraft 2 arrived.

StarCraft 2 was a critically acclaimed success that drove the StarCraft franchise forward, and Blizzard released two follow-up expansions, each as highly praised as the last. However, all good things must come to an end. Blizzard halted further StarCraft 2 development and moved on to other titles like Overwatch and Hearthstone. But, the company is following up Diablo 3 with the much-anticipated Diablo 4 and Diablo Immortal — so one must wonder if Blizzard will ever return to the StarCraft universe. The answer is written in the stars, and they are less than promising.

When Blizzard released the original StarCraft, it was a one-company act (sort of). It made its own decisions regarding developing titles, but that isn't the case anymore. Activision merged with Blizzard's parent company in 2008 to to form Activision Blizzard, but it is unclear how much influence Activision has over Blizzard. Regardless, Activision Blizzard is reassessing the future of its titles, and StarCraft seemingly doesn't have any part in it.

During a 2019 quarterly earnings call, Activision Blizzard stated it would expand development teams for Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Diablo. Not games such as those, just those games. That list doesn't include StarCraft, which seems to dig a grave for the series.

Although, Crash Bandicoot wasn't part of that list, yet Crash Bandicoot 4 was announced on June 22, 2020. Still, you shouldn't get your hopes up just because a remake of an unrelated franchise proved popular enough to warrant the development of a new entry.

Blizzard has a long list of cancelled games, and the StarCraft series appears to have seen more cancellations than any other Blizzard franchise, which doesn't bode well for any future StarCraft games.

The most obvious cancelled StarCraft product is StarCraft: Ghost. The game was supposed to be a spin-off that would catapult Blizzard once again into the console market, but it was axed after entering development hell. It has remained in the collective gamer subconscious because Blizzard recycled the main character into StarCraft 2. However, Ghost isn't the only example of Blizzard sacrificing a StarCraft game.

Ex-Kotaku reporter Jason Schreier uncovered a cancelled StarCraft first-person shooter. Anonymous sources said it was "like Battlefield in the StarCraft universe" and described a prototype where players stepped into the power armor of a Terran marine and took out Zerg. They also described their surprise when Blizzard pulled the plug on the project.

What do these games have to do with a potential StarCraft 3? Not much, but they paint a sobering picture on the likelihood of the game being developed and then subsequently dropped before launch.

A video game is nothing without an audience, and companies publish titles gamers want. After all, audiences demanded more Crash Bandicoot, and Activision acquiesced. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy started a Crash craze that eventually resulted in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. The same could happen with StarCraft.

During BlizzCon 2019, PC Gamer reporter Tyler Wilde spoke with StarCraft 2's production director, Tim Morton. He asked Morton if the company was developing StarCraft 3. While Morton didn't provide a definitive answer, he gladly implied that Activision Blizzard might listen to fan feedback.

Morton stated, "The best way for us to figure out our future is to hear from players," and that they should inform Blizzard of the demand for StarCraft 3. It by no means guarantees the game will be developed, just increase its odds.