Blizzard confirmed a new StarCraft game at BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony, ending a wait since StarCraft II's 2015 expansion. The title drops the series' real-time strategy roots entirely, pivoting to an open-world, story-driven shooter. Set in the Koprulu Sector roughly 70 years after Legacy of the Void, it represents a fresh story.

The project is led by Dan Hay, previously creative director on several Far Cry games at Ubisoft. During the reveal, Hay said the game would be fought "not from above, but down in the mud, in the fire," signaling clear gameplay changes. The announcement trailer featured only cinematics showing Dominion soldiers training and fighting the Zerg, with no gameplay footage shown yet.

A 2030 release is far off, and Blizzard admits the game is early in development. Given the franchise's quiet since 2016's Nova Covert Ops, it's surprising Blizzard chose to reinvent StarCraft as a shooter rather than return to its RTS format, though this may explain the attention.