StarCraft might return, but maybe not as a strategy game

StarCraft could be making a comeback and possibly in an entirely different genre.

Despite its status as a genre-defining strategy series, it's been well over a decade since the last StarCraft game launched. Instead, in recent years, Blizzard has focused on its biggest and best-selling series, such as Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch.

Indeed, these series were front and center of this year's BlizzCon; Diablo 4's first expansion was revealed alongside no less than three new expansions for World of Warcraft, and the lid was lifted on Overwatch 2's next hero, while StarCraft was nowhere to be seen. Still, that could very well change in the future, according to Blizzard's president Mike Ybarra. 

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Ybarra speaks of the potential changes Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard could bring. He said that while the studio's largest teams will remain focused on the heavyweight titles, he's also open to the idea of exploring smaller projects, including a new entry in the StarCraft series. Also, as many developers with experience working on real-time strategy games have since parted ways with Blizzard, it could be that the series sails away from its RTS roots.

"It's not me saying, 'Go make a StarCraft game,'" Ybarra says. "I need to have someone who has the vision and passion that comes with the idea, and I'll bet on that team."

With the series potentially expanding beyond the strategy genre, could we finally get the StarCraft shooter experience that we were denied with the cancellation of StarCraft: Ghost? Let's hope so.

Last year, with the Microsoft deal pending, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he was "excited" to sit down with the teams at Activision and Blizzard to talk about "back catalogs" and reviving classic franchises should the acquisition proceed.

From turn-based tactics to RTS, here's our pick of the best strategy games.