Report: Blizzard Cancels StarCraft Project to Focus On Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2

With E3 2019 just within reach, many gamers are preparing themselves to taking a whole lot of news regarding the gaming world. One studio that won’t be in attendance, of course, is Blizzard Entertainment, as they’ll be holding their own BlizzCon later this year. Fans of the company are always wondering what is going on behind the scenes, and according to a recent report, it appears that quite a bit is happening. Per Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, Blizzard has cancelled a first-person StarCraft project, and has done so in order to focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.

According to Schreier’s anonymous sources, the now-cancelled StarCraft project was codenamed Ares and would feature a playable Terran marine taking on a plethora of Zerg aliens. One of the sources said it was “looking quite good,” while another said that it came as “a massive shock” when the project was shut down recently. It is said that it started development two years ago, and that it was a way to see what the team could do with popular IP on the Overwatch engine.

Luckily, no one appears to have been laid off as a result of the cancellation of the StarCraft title, but instead have been moved over to work on other games that are being developed by Blizzard. While the studio didn’t mention any specifics when replying to Schreier, they did keep it vague and touched on when games don’t go according to plan in the development process. “We always have people working on different ideas behind the scenes – including on multiple projects right now – but the reason we tend not to discuss them publicly is because anything can happen over the course of development,” they said.

“As has been the case at Blizzard numerous times in the past, there is always the possibility that we’ll make the decision to not move forward on a given project. Announcing something before we feel it’s ready stands the risk of creating a lot of frustration and disappointment, both for our players and us, not to mention distraction and added pressure for our development teams.”

They then went on to note how knowing that games can be cancelled at any moment doesn’t make it any easier for them to do it. “We always make decisions about these things, regardless of the ultimate outcome or how things might be interpreted, based on our values, what we believe makes sense for Blizzard, and what we hope our players will enjoy the most,” Blizzard said. “The work that goes into these projects – whether they ship or not – is extraordinarily valuable. It often leads to great things and helps foster a culture of experimentation here.”

As for Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2, however, it is noted that there is a chance these will be the two big announcements to come out of this year’s BlizzCon, and will likely remain the focus for many years to come. Of course, as it is with anything like this, the salt should be kept handy at all times. We just won’t know for sure until Blizzard announces anything.