Blizzard Entertainment has explained why the next entry in one of its biggest franchises is simply called ‘Starcraft.’
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Blizzard president Johanna Faries said that the ‘Starcraft’ title for its new open-world shooter is intended to expand the franchise by offering a fresh take. “We like sort of just stamping it StarCraft and starting a new conversation around it,” she said.
According to Faries, the simple name is a deliberate choice. Blizzard Entertainment views the new project as a “broadening” of StarCraft, rather than an indication that the franchise is doing away with its real-time strategy roots. “We came out with a strong belief that this is a StarCraft for the modern, next generation of players without departing from our RTS roots,” she said.
The announcement is part of a wider change in Blizzard Entertainment’s approach to game development. Rather than concentrating exclusively on enormous, established franchises, the company wants its teams to have greater freedom to pursue projects of different scales. “We want the teams to feel creatively empowered to take really smart bets,” Faries said. “Some of those bets can be big, some of those can be closer to medium, smaller sizes.”
Blizzard Entertainment revealed the new game at BlizzCon 2026 in Anaheim, California, alongside Diablo V, which is scheduled for 2029. The new StarCraft game, meanwhile, is planned for 2030 and will take the long-running science-fiction franchise in a different direction as an open-world shooter. The company’s announcements come amid uncertainty surrounding potential layoffs at Microsoft’s Xbox division. Faries declined to comment on possible job cuts, saying she remained focused on building “as healthy a Blizzard as possible.”
World of Warcraft Forever, a new third version of the MMO that will exist alongside Modern and Classic WoW, was also revealed. Set during the Vanilla era, Forever will introduce three new zones, more than 1,000 new quests, nine dungeons, two raids and the new Skyborne playable race. The game launches on November 4, 2026, with its beta beginning September 17.
