12 years after the release of Starcraft 2, there have been few words said regarding Starcraft 3 release date speculation. News has been largely quiet, too. But with Blizzard working on Diablo IV, there's every chance another sector of the legendary studio could be brewing up its next sci-fi opera.
With active support for Starcraft 2 ending a couple of years back now, it's easy to understand why some think the decision came to wean players off the old game and reallocate resources to a sequel. Whether or not there's any truth to that is hard to confirm, but we can use solid reasoning to speculate further.
Of course, we'll round up any believable Starcraft 3 rumours and any confirmed tidbits of news as we go. For the most part, though, this is pure speculation. To see more about potential sequels to your favourite games, check out what's going on with Team Fortress 3. Or check out the best free multiplayer game or our list of the best free war games.
Starcraft 3 release news
For the most part, there is absolutely no reliable bit of information out there pertaining to Starcraft 3 existing in any meaningful form right now, making Starcraft 3 release date speculation borderline impossible.
Starcraft 3 hasn't been uttered in interviews, press conferences, or shareholder meetings, and it seems like Blizzard's developers are more focused on their currently released (and actively supported) projects like Overwatch, Warcraft, Diablo, and Hearthstone.
Back in 2021, it was reported that the team that oversaw the creation of Starcraft 2 would no longer exist in its original capacity, suggesting that either Starcraft 3 was not being worked on at the time, was passed onto another team, or was shelved at that moment. Because the team was working on a few other projects at the time, the former stands more likely to be true. Starcraft 2 likely wasn't in active development in 2021.
Starcraft 3, under Blizzard Entertainment, is unlikely to be released in the next few years. With key members of the original Starcraft/Starcraft 2 team now at Frost Giant Studios working on a potential spiritual successor, paired with the closure of Team 1 in its original form, a potential Starcraft 3 at Blizzard would likely be under a widely different team than the first two major entries.
Five things we want to see in Starcraft 3
While it's unlikely that Starcraft 3 could arrive anytime soon, that's no reason not to float ideas for what the potential sequel could possibly look like. Here are a few features we'd like to see in a worthy follow-up.
A brand-new story
Beyond the obvious competitive push, Starcraft 2 found a lot of fans in those just wanting to see the next logical step in the war between the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg races.
Its single-player campaign told the continuation over three expansion packs. Though the sequel had a satisfactory redeption arc, if there's one thing about space we all know, is that it never truly ends. And we don't think the story has, either. If that's without Kerrigan and Jim, so be it.
A Mobile version
Mobile Version of Starcraft is one of the most frequently requested things on Reddit and other forums. Honestly, finding a good RTS game on mobile is pretty challenging nowadays. So, if the next Starcraft gets released on mobile, it will instantly become one of the most frequently downloaded games on mobile. Moreover, the popular mobile version of Starcraft will stimulate the growth of the PC version of this game.
Updated graphics
Though any game with a competitive core needs to be developers to work on a wide range of systems, a Starcraft title with modern graphics can't be ignored. Blizzard manages top-tier visuals even on aging hardware thanks to its unique artstyles, but we'd love to see a grittier, more realistic shift for Starcraft 3's visuals.
New units and maps
Starcraft 2 introduced new units to the series, with subsequent expansions introducing more and reworking some classics back into the fold.
But you can't have a new game with the same roster. There needs to be something new to shake up the decades-old strategies players would quickly employ again in a new title. Without them, Starcraft 3 would just feel like Starcraft 2 again. Old.
As you can see, it's nearly impossible to predict whether the legendary RTS series will grace our screens with a threequel just yet. But we can keep dreaming of exploring the stars above, Until we're back up there, check our list of the best action-adventure games.