Starcraft 3 Might Actually Happen in Surprise New Partnership

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Published Sep 2, 2026, 11:57 AM EDT

Blizzard Entertainment's beloved sci-fi RTS reportedly returning — just not at Blizzard

Jim Raynor from the StarCraft games in his space marine armor

In 2016, Blizzard Entertainment released the final piece of DLC for StarCraft 2. The series has been dormant since then (outside a remaster of the first game in 2017), with no sign of a sequel. The long drought may be over, with new reports saying StarCraft 3 could finally be in the works.

The twist, however, is that the rumored new StarCraft won't be developed in-house by Blizzard.

Nexon is reportedly in talks with Blizzard to acquire the rights to develop a sequel in the StarCraft franchise, according to a report from Korean newspaper Chosun. This deal is "on the verge of being finalized," per an unnamed senior gaming industry official who spoke with the paper. If true, that likely means Nexon would begin development on StarCraft 3.

While StarCraft is a hugely influential series globally, it has continued to have a massive casual and competitive fanbase in Korea, where Nexon is based. Nexon already has a good relationship with Blizzard, having acquired the publishing rights for Overwatch on PC in Korea just this year.

There is, however, a chance Nexon isn't developing a real-time strategy game at all. Earlier this year, another report claimed Blizzard and Nexon were teaming up to develop a shooter in the franchise. That project could finally bring the canceled StarCraft: Ghost back to life. It is unclear whether this is the same StarCraft shooter Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said in 2024, which was said to be led by former Far Cry lead Dan Hay.

If Nexon and Blizzard are approaching a deal on something related to StarCraft, it will likely be announced next weekend during BlizzCon 2026. Rumors already suggest a StarCraft announcement could be coming. That's after Blizzard released a surprise update for StarCraft 2 in June that shook up the game's meta.

Polygon has reached out to Blizzard for comment and will update this story when the company responds.

Any major announcements for StarCraft (and other Blizzard titles like World of Warcraft and Overwatch) will happen during the BlizzCon opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. PDT on Sept. 12. You can watch the show on the official Blizzard YouTube channel.

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