StarCraft 2 development ending as Blizzard focuses on "what's next"

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No more major expansions for StarCraft 2, though balancing updates and season rolls continue

(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Blizzard has announced that it will no longer be developing major updates to StarCraft 2, instead focusing on balancing fixes and "what's next" for the franchise.

In a new dev update, Blizzard VP Rob Bridenbecker explained that the studio will continue to support StarCraft 2 by "focusing primarily on what our core and competitive communities care about most." That means no more paid content like Commanders and War Chests, nor any new expansions. That said, balance updates and season rolls will continue as normal for the foreseeable future. Bridenbecker also notes that there won't be a Q4 balance update as Blizzard just released one in August.

2020 marks ten years since StarCraft 2 released, and just this year Blizzard launched one of the game's biggest patches, which added a suite of new tools and improvements to the editor, improvements to Prestige Talents for Co-op Commanders, and some quality-of-life updates. It seems with these last few substantial changes, Blizzard sees a finished product and is ready to turn its attention elsewhere.

It might be a tough blow for fans to see Blizzard moving away from StarCraft 2, but Bridenbecker says the studio will now have more time to plan out something entirely new, "not just with regard to StarCraft II, but for the StarCraft universe as a whole." Whether that means StarCraft 3 or some sort of spin-off entry isn't clear, but at least we know the series itself isn't going anywhere.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.