Recently, Blizzard President Johanna Faries spoke with journalist Jason Schreier, explaining the reasoning behind naming the open-world shooter announced at BlizzCon 2026 simply "StarCraft," without any numbering or subtitle.
Faries stated that the choice of a minimalist title was a deliberate strategy, aimed at "opening a new conversation about this IP under the name 'StarCraft'." She emphasized that this open-world shooter represents an expansion of the StarCraft IP and does not mean the series is abandoning its RTS roots.
Faries said, "We firmly believe this is StarCraft for the modern generation of players, while still staying true to its RTS foundations."
The new StarCraft shooter is still several years away from release. Faries stated, "What we want to convey is that Blizzard will release it, release it with great fanfare, and release it on time." She explained that announcing the date early is intended to demonstrate Blizzard's confidence in major projects.
The new StarCraft shooter is led by former Far Cry producer Dan Hay. It is positioned as a narrative-driven, single-player, boxed open-world shooter, rather than a seasonal live-service game. The story takes place in the Koprulu Sector more than seventy years after StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, with an expected release in 2030. The armor in the game is designed to hold personal significance, allowing players to gradually upgrade and maintain it, truly making it their own. Potential future classes or characters may include Firebats or Ghosts.
Faries also discussed Blizzard's current development philosophy, which grants development teams greater creative freedom and encourages them to experiment with projects of varying scales, including AAA titles as well as mid-sized and small creative projects. Regarding rumors of potential layoffs within Microsoft's Xbox division, she declined to comment, stating that the current focus is on building a healthy and functioning Blizzard.