According to Kotaku, three anonymous sources familiar with the project confirmed that the StarCraft FPS was officially canceled to put more resources into other Blizzard projects tied to the Diablo and Overwatch franchises. The report claims that both Diablo 4 and a PvE-oriented Overwatch 2 are becoming the main focus within Blizzard. A StarCraft FPS, given the franchise’s downturn in recent years, understandably would be considered a lesser priority.
Developers working on the StarCraft FPS were said to be “shocked” when the project was canceled. However, Blizzard apparently did its due diligence informing the team about the project cancelation and ensuring that no employees were laid off. All employees were said to be shifted onto other projects, though that oddly contradicts a message from a Blizzard animator that said he was leaving the company following the project cancellation.
Heading the StarCraft FPS project was Blizzard director Dustin Broder, known best for directing StarCraft’s Heart of the Storm and Legacy of the Void expansion campaigns, and leading the development of Heroes of the Storm and its live service before moving onto the secret StarCraft FPS.
Blizzard provided an official comment to be published alongside news of the StarCraft FPS’ cancellation. The comment doesn’t acknowledge the cancellation or reference the project specifically, but does ambiguously offer some introspection into the realities of game development and project cancellations:
While not apologetic about these realities, Blizzard does offer some sympathetic words perhaps in understanding that some Blizzard and StarCraft fans will take the news of the cancellation harshly.
One project’s demise is another’s gain, in this case. Blizzard continues to move forward on other projects, bringing the developers of the canceled StarCraft game to help move its other projects forward faster. While the idea of a canceled StarCraft game may be disappointing now, come BlizzCon later this year when Blizzard announces what it’s working on next those feelings will hopefully turn to elation.
Source: Kotaku
