Blizzard is hiring for an “upcoming open-world shooter sport,” a brand new job advert has revealed — and all indicators level to it being a StarCraft FPS.
As noticed on reddit, on November 13 Blizzard posted a job ad for an Affiliate Design Director, Innovation on an unannounced sport. The outline goes into extra element:
As the Design Director of Innovation, you may be the imaginative and prescient holder and proprietor of key strategic improvements on an upcoming open-world shooter sport. You keep present with the newest developments in each the indie and AAA area. David Bowie is quoted as saying “Go somewhat bit out of your depth. And while you don’t really feel that your toes are fairly touching the backside, you’re nearly in the proper place to do one thing thrilling” – the concept of innovating in the deep finish excites you, balanced with a practical need to flip goals into actuality that gamers can get their arms on and take pleasure in.
That blurb confirms Blizzard’s plan to launch an open-world shooter, however what’s it? In September, it emerged that Blizzard was reportedly making a 3rd try at creating a StarCraft shooter, with former Far Cry government producer Dan Hay, who joined Blizzard in 2022, main the cost.
The information got here from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier whereas talking to IGN’s Podcast Unlocked, under, about his new e-book, Play Good: The Rise, Fall, and Way forward for Blizzard Leisure. Hay’s StarCraft shooter is talked about in the e-book, and IGN’s Ryan McCaffrey requested Schreier if it’s possible to truly come out.
“If it’s not canceled!” Schreier replied. “That is Blizzard in any case. Their historical past with StarCraft shooters will not be good.
“Sure, that could be a challenge that so far as I do know is in improvement, or at the least as of the time that I wrote this e-book was in improvement. They’re engaged on a StarCraft shooter, StarCraft will not be lifeless at Blizzard.
“The objective of the e-book isn’t to get a bunch of scoops about upcoming issues. That wasn’t the function of this e-book in any respect, it was very a lot to inform a narrative and concentrate on stuff that had occurred. However this felt like such an attention-grabbing and helpful nugget to embody as a result of it actually simply exhibits you that Blizzard can not stop StarCraft shooters.”
That was a reference to Blizzard’s notorious try to launch a StarCraft shooter in the previous as a part of a bid to develop the StarCraft franchise past its real-time technique origins. StarCraft Ghost, introduced in 2002, was going to be a tactical-action console sport in which you performed as a lethal Ghost operative in the make use of of the Dominion, nevertheless it was canceled in 2006 after a sequence of delays.
A second try to make a StarCraft shooter, codenamed Ares, was canceled in 2019 so Blizzard may concentrate on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. Ares was reportedly “like Battlefield in the StarCraft universe,” however, like Ghost, fell by the wayside.
Hay joined Ubisoft in 2011 to work on Far Cry 3, then turned government producer for the Far Cry model, transport Far Cry Blood Dragon, Far Cry 4, and Far Cry Primal. Hay was artistic director and government producer on Far Cry 5 and government director for Far Cry New Daybreak and Far Cry 6 earlier than becoming a member of Blizzard in 2022 as GM/VP.
Issues are slowly ramping up for StarCraft. Blizzard just lately launched StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft 2: Marketing campaign Assortment on Sport Cross, and introduced a StarCraft crossover with Warcraft card sport Hearthstone. It appears like Blizzard is gearing up for one thing even larger, although. Like, open-world larger.
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You possibly can attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.