Since 1998 StarCraft has grown to become an extremely successful IP. With just two releases and three expansions it has accumulated more than 20 million units sold, making it one of PC gaming’s elite.
Along the way it has earned a multitude of fans, not only for its interesting three-race competitive multiplayer, but its complex sci-fi story. Though, that story is nearing its end.
When talking to IGN, a Blizzard representative tackled the question of where StarCraft will be after the release of StarCraft 2‘s final expansion. He shared:
StarCraft will live on as a universe. We hope to explore some other aspects of the universe, but the storyline that was setup in StarCraft I and continued in StarCraft II will resolve in Legacy of the Void. All of those main characters will reach a nice satisfying conclusion.
RTS games have been struggling on the market with the advent of MOBA/action-RTS games like League of Legends and Dota 2, who in contrast are the most popular multiplayer games in the world. Blizzard has been watching this trend, and appears to have a new direction for the future of the franchise.
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Some, including myself, expect to see Blizzard go the free-to-play route with the next StarCraft game. It may very well forego any campaign mode in an effort to focus entirely on where the game has succeeded during the past couple years: competitive multiplayer.
The truth is, StarCraft has lost some of its magic over time, but it’s still one of the most prolific e-sport titles. With Heroes of the Storm becoming Blizzard’s solution for casual strategic play, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where it designates the next StarCraft as anything but hardcore.
In the meantime, Blizzard is wrapping up development of StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void which will include interesting new features such as Archon Mode as well as new units. As shared above, it will also round off the story that fans have grown attached to when it releases sometime later this year.
