Blizzard is reportedly working with an outside Western studio known for real-time strategy games on an unannounced project. Windows Central’s Jez Corden made the claim during the latest episode of The XB2 podcast, saying the mystery developer has also previously worked with Microsoft on one of its strategy titles. Neither Blizzard nor Microsoft has announced the collaboration, and Corden did not identify the studio or confirm which Blizzard franchise is involved.
The comments came during a discussion about recent reports that Nexon could gain development rights to the StarCraft franchise. Corden said he does not believe the reported Nexon arrangement is necessarily connected to a traditional RTS, suggesting it could instead involve a mobile or multiplayer project. He then added that he knows of a separate Western studio with RTS experience that is already “working with Blizzard for something.”
Corden suggested Blizzard may be moving toward a development structure similar to Microsoft’s approach with Age of Empires. Under that model, Blizzard could maintain an internal production group responsible for the franchise’s creative direction, story and overall design while contracting a specialist studio to handle much of the actual game development. He characterized that structure as one possible route for Blizzard to rebuild its strategy-game output without recreating a large dedicated RTS development team entirely in-house.
That distinction is important because Corden did not say the mystery game is StarCraft 3. He said he hopes Blizzard eventually produces a fully fledged new StarCraft RTS, but presented that as his expectation rather than confirmed information about the current external project. Online speculation has already focused on studios such as Relic Entertainment because of its work on Age of Empires IV, but no developer has been named by Corden or Blizzard.
The timing nevertheless makes the report particularly notable. BlizzCon 2026 takes place September 12 and 13, and Blizzard has already begun drawing renewed attention to StarCraft ahead of the event. The official StarCraft website recently began displaying unusual glitch effects and cryptic transmissions, adding to expectations that the long-dormant franchise could feature prominently during the show.
StarCraft is already believed to have at least one other project in development. Previous reporting from Bloomberg and Windows Central has described a third-person or open-world shooter set in the StarCraft universe, reportedly led by former Far Cry executive producer Dan Hay. Corden has separately said he expects that project to be revealed at BlizzCon, meaning any externally developed strategy game would potentially exist alongside rather than replace Blizzard’s internally produced shooter.
There have also been separate reports from South Korea claiming Nexon is negotiating with Blizzard for rights to develop a StarCraft project. Corden has pushed back on suggestions that Microsoft intends to sell the StarCraft IP outright, instead describing any potential agreement as a licensing arrangement. That leaves open the possibility that multiple developers could work on different StarCraft projects simultaneously, although Blizzard has not confirmed any such structure.
Blizzard has a long history in real-time strategy, with Warcraft and StarCraft forming a major part of the company’s identity before its focus shifted toward World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and live-service games. StarCraft II stopped receiving new paid content years ago, while Warcraft III’s modern releases have concentrated largely on remastering and maintaining existing material rather than delivering a completely new RTS.
Corden’s report therefore points to a potentially significant rebuilding of Blizzard’s strategy development pipeline. What remains unclear is whether the external studio is working on StarCraft, Warcraft or something entirely different, and whether the project is advanced enough to appear at BlizzCon. For now, the existence of the partnership itself remains an unconfirmed report, while specific guesses involving Relic Entertainment or StarCraft 3 should be treated as speculation until Blizzard makes an announcement.
