Starcraft Is Getting a New Game, But It's Not What You Expect

A new StarCraft game is coming next year, although players will experience it on a dining room table instead of a PC. The classic StarCraft franchise was once one of the biggest sci-fi video game franchises in existence, with over $1 billion in sales. Despite a series of popular releases in the late 1990s and 2000s, Blizzard Entertainment hasn’t released a new StarCraft game in nearly a decade. While no new StarCraft video games are coming out soon, StarCraft fans will soon have a different outlet to enjoy their franchise.

Archon Studio announced plans to develop a line of StarCraft miniatures and board games. The StarCraft Tabletop Miniatures Game will allow players to control either Terran, Zerg, or Protoss armies in fast-paced battles reminiscent of the original RTS style of the video games. Archon will also release a series of StarCraft board games following the launch of the miniatures game. The StarCraft miniatures game will be released in 2026, while the board games will be published starting in 2027.

Can A StarCraft Miniatures Game Be Successful?

Halo Has A Successful Miniatures Game, So Why Not StarCraft?

Translating an RTS-style game like StarCraft into a miniatures game poses some unique challenges. Typically, miniatures games involve commanding units and moving them across a battlefield. These units can consist of a single miniature or collections of miniatures, with most battles being wars of attrition as units are killed and removed from the field of play. StarCraft is built around the concept of raising armies in real time and sending them to destroy enemy bases. The idea of constantly refreshing armies is unique, although it will largely depend on the style of missions and whether combat is built around standard objectives or if it will look to StarCraft for inspiration.

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Other sci-fi franchises have successfully made the transition from video game to miniatures game. Halo: Combat Patrol has proven to be a hit among miniatures skirmish fans, with kill team-style teams of Spartans and Covenant forces going up against each other in intense battles. Other popular sci-fi franchises that are dominant in miniatures include Warhammer 40,000 and BattleTech.

Our Take: Finally, Some New StarCraft Content

This Isn’t StarCraft 3, But It’s Something

Starcraft II promo art featuring characters from each of the game's main factions.

I’ve always found it strange that StarCraft hasn’t made a comeback with modern audiences. Sure, RTS games like StarCraft 2 are out of style, but StarCraft is a big enough franchise that there’s still plenty of nostalgia and love of the older games. The StarCraft miniatures game will need to rely on that nostalgia to become successful, although I think the fanbase is big enough that some players will at least want to give the game a try.

I hope that the new StarCraft game retains the RTS roots of the franchise — that would help the game feel unique in a crowded field of sci-fi miniatures games and make it feel like we’re finally getting a new StarCraft game.

Source: Archon Studio