StarCraft is coming back in 2030 — as an open-world shooter
Blizzard has officially announced a new StarCraft game — an open-world shooter targeting a 2030 release — marking the franchise's first new entry in nearly a decade. The reveal came at the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony, where a three-minute cinematic trailer was the only footage shown. No gameplay, no platform details, no price.
The Far Cry connection
The project, internally codenamed Dominion, is led by Dan Hay — the executive producer behind Far Cry 3 through Far Cry 6 at Ubisoft Montreal, who joined Blizzard in 2022. The game is set 70 years after StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, with Dominion Marines and Zerg featured in the trailer. Hay has described the goal as an "open-world shooter where every step is earned," per VGC, framing it as a full reinvention of the universe rather than an RTS sequel.
That's a meaningful shift. StarCraft built its legacy as a real-time strategy game — particularly in South Korea, where it became a professional esport. An open-world shooter with Far Cry DNA will appeal to a very different audience, and longtime RTS fans may find the pivot hard to swallow.
Ghost in the machine
The skepticism isn't unfounded. PC Gamer notes the uncomfortable parallel with StarCraft: Ghost — an action game announced in the early 2000s that was quietly canceled in 2014 after years of delays. A cinematic-only reveal with a four-year runway to launch is exactly the kind of announcement Ghost once was.
There's another wrinkle Blizzard didn't address at BlizzCon: Korean publisher Nexon has separately signed a licensing deal with Blizzard for its own StarCraft project, according to multiple Korean press sources. Blizzard retained IP ownership; Nexon got development rights. Whether the two projects are coordinated or entirely separate is still unclear.
Game Informer reports that the Dominion team is committed to "re-igniting" the franchise, but with no gameplay shown, the promise is impossible to evaluate right now.
What to watch
The open-world shooter space in 2030 will be crowded. Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic have already proven that co-op sci-fi shooters can dominate, and live-service extraction games are mainstream. StarCraft Dominion will need to offer something beyond nostalgia to compete — and Blizzard, now under Microsoft, will need to confirm platform availability, Game Pass inclusion, and regional pricing well before launch.
For now, mark 2030 in your calendar loosely. The trailer looks good. The history is complicated.
