Korean Publishers, Including Nexon and Netmarble, in Negotiations with Blizzard for a New Starcraft Game
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- Nexon, NCSoft, Netmarble, and Krafton are competing with one another for negotiations with Blizzard.
- The goal of the negotiations is to create new Starcraft titles and secure global publishing rights.
- Blizzard has not yet publicly announced which publisher will be in charge of Starcraft.
Four major Korean game companies are attempting to secure the Starcraft IP from Blizzard – the company that owns the rights to the iconic PvP IP. The news was revealed on a Korean website, where it stated that Nexon, NCSoft, Netmarble, and Krafton were directly competing with one another for development rights for future Starcraft titles.
The scope of the contract supposedly encompasses future RPG titles, shooter games, as well as global publishing rights. No other information was presented, meaning the exact nature of the next Starcraft title is not known.
Representatives from the Korean game companies are currently pitching to Blizzard executives with the hope of securing the contract – with some representatives reportedly having flown all the way to California to make their pitches. Depending on which company wins the contract, the future Starcraft product will undoubtedly be impacted.
Starcraft II is massive in Korea, still seeing much play more than fifteen years after its initial release in 2010. Much of the esports surrounding the title takes place in South Korea, with the world’s best Starcraft II players reigning from the country. Blizzard’s decision to potentially hand the future of the IP to Korea aligns with the demand for the title in Korea.
Krafton is the publisher that owns PUBG and inZOI – the latter of which is currently ranked second in Steam’s Top Sellers list. Netmarble excels in creating mobile games, showcased by their popular mobile title Solo Leveling: Arise. As for Nexon, they are responsible for the global hit Maplestory. NCSoft is best known for their MMORPGs, such as Blade and Soul.
