Finally, after over a decade of waiting, Blizzard is returning to StarCraft.
Revealed at BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard lifted the lid on one of gaming's biggest rumor mills of recent memory. STARCRAFT is coming in 2030, and here's the first cinematic trailer.
StarCraft has historically been a real-time strategy franchise, often credited with kickstarting the mainstreaming of live esports. The franchise focuses on three main factions: humans of the United Earth Directorate, advanced aliens known as the Protoss, and the Xenomorph-like Zerg swarm.
The classic RTS and its follow-up, StarCraft II, have effectively been on ice since StarCraft II shipped its final expansion, Legacy of the Void, some years ago.
StarCraft has previously attempted a foray into shooters too, with the famously canceled "StarCraft: Ghost." The new STARCRAFT seems like something of a soft reignition of the franchise, particularly given the fact it shares its namesake with the original StarCraft (which is always a tad annoying when discussing games which literally share a name ...). But to me, it feels indicative of a Blizzard intent on reintroducing the franchise to a new, potentially more mainstream audience.
• Warcraft 3's first DLC in 23 years
• Xal'atath joins Heroes of the Storm
• Diablo 5 surprise announcement
• The Amazon returns to Diablo 4
• WoW Forever is Classic+
• A new hero joins Overwatch
What remains to be seen is whether or not we get a tried-and-true StarCraft 3 RTS, as I'm sure many StarCraft fans will be slighted by the decision to step away from the franchise's traditional roots.
There are rumors that Nexon and other companies have pitched Blizzard to work in the StarCraft franchise, so we'll have to wait and see.
I'm curious why Blizzard decided to announce it so early too, considering we're literally four years away from its stated landing strip. I guess this helps Blizzard ramp up hiring for the game's development; it could also be indicative of the game's potential scope.
From what I've heard and seen, the game has been in development for quite a while already. Blizzard may also have its work cut out differentiating StarCraft from a surging Warhammer 40K, which has truly found mainstream success in recent years. It'll be interesting to see how Blizzard navigates some of that.
In any case, what do you think of StarCraft's pending return? Hit the comments, let us know.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
