According to senior figures in the South Korean gaming industry, Nexon is advancing plans to acquire the content development rights for the StarCraft IP from Blizzard, with the contract nearing finalization. The source stated, "Once the contract is completed, Nexon will gain the development rights for future StarCraft sequels"—given that StarCraft II has already been released, this means Nexon is poised to develop StarCraft III.
StarCraft was first released in 1998 and sparked a craze through South Korea's PC bang culture, creating the so-called "StarCraft Syndrome," which played a decisive role in the widespread adoption of high-speed internet and the establishment of the esports ecosystem in the country. In July 2004, the Pro League finals held at Gwangalli Beach in Busan attracted 100,000 spectators, and first-generation star professional players such as Lim Yo-hwan and Hong Jin-ho all emerged from StarCraft. Blizzard also rose to become a global gaming company thanks to the success of this title.
Blizzard is now a subsidiary of Microsoft (Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023). It is reported that many game companies around the world have expressed interest in the development rights for the StarCraft IP, but Nexon was selected as the priority negotiation partner due to its ongoing collaboration with Blizzard, including the recently signed publishing agreement for Overwatch in South Korea.
Industry analysts believe that if Nexon acquires the StarCraft IP development rights and releases a sequel tailored to the tastes of Korean players, it could achieve tremendous success.