GamesReal Time StrategyStarCraftStarCraft is coming to Game Pass and there are rumors of a shooter spin-off, but a true StarCraft 3 RTS will stay a pipe dream if the series can’t adaptWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesReal Time StrategyStarCraftStarCraft is coming to Game Pass and there are rumors of a shooter spin-off, but a true StarCraft 3 RTS will stay a pipe dream if the series can’t adaptWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
It’s been – deep breath, please – 14 years since StarCraft 2 launched.Ouch. Though my brain has finally stopped thinking that 2010 was just a few years ago, this one stings. I was never particularly good at StarCraft – truth be told, online RTS matches stress me out like nothing else – but Wings of Liberty’s campaign hooked me from the first mission. It was my stepping stone from playing the likes of Halo Wars and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2 alone, to trying out multiplayer and learning phrases like Zerg rush and APM against my will.
Even 14 years later, I’m yet to find another RTS that has grabbed me in the same ways StarCraft did. So when it wasrecently reported that a StarCraft shooter was in the works, my immediate reaction was two-fold: as much as I crave a new story in Blizzard’s sci-fi world, I’dmuchrather be looking at that world from a top-down perspective. But given how much has changed since StarCraft 2 launched, I have to wonder what something like StarCraft 3 would even look like.
Construct additional pylons
(Image credit: Blizzard)
Think with your head
Let’s take a look at the broader strategy genre. Since StarCraft 2 launched, we’ve seen XCOM receive a critically acclaimed reboot and sequel, while Civilization has released two (going on three withCivilization 7) new mainline games. In 2016 Total War moved into fantasy, breaking with its decade and a half of historical dominance to delve into Warhammer. Even Company of Heroes, which of these examples lies closest to StarCraft despite its World War Two setting, has experimented with live service trappings and a more sandbox-style campaign across its last two entries.
“I would hope to see StarCraft 3 try something radically new to advance the genre, like being an open world or introducing game modes that are radically different for accessibility with a greater ability to game with friends,” Morten tells GamesRadar+. Though I can’t picture an open-world StarCraft game myself, I completely agree with Morten’s point – it’s hard to imagine a safe follow-up succeeding in today’s landscape.
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For all of its strengths, StarCraft could never quite connect with a casual audience, as a lack of onboarding meant that players could only learn how to play throughYouTubetutorials and one crushing defeat after another. This is something that developers have become much better at in recent years. Last year’s Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, which sticks to that classic RTS formula, did this quite well, as streamlined unit production and less intensive micro-management meant that you could focus more on tougher concepts and the broader strategy of each match. Even grand strategies Crusader Kings 3 and Stellaris have made it to console, which defies the assumption that the genre’s toughest games are restricted to nicher PC audiences.
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