Blizzard is hiring for an ‘open-world shooter’ utilizing Unreal Engine, which is extra proof {that a} new Starcraft recreation might be on its means

According to a recent job listing, Blizzard is cooking up a brand new recreation in an engine and a style that none of its releases have used earlier than. The studio is on the lookout for a “Lead Designer, Innovation” to run growth on a “AAA open-world shooter” with out a title.

Right now, each Blizzard recreation besides Hearthstone (made with Unity) had been made with in-house engines, however this unnamed shooter will possible use Unreal Engine. The itemizing says the lead designer will want expertise working with the favored engine for prototyping options.

On high of that, the job additionally requires “15 years of professional experience in game design or a related discipline”, which tells me Blizzard desires somebody who’s most likely finished this sort of work earlier than, probably much more than as soon as. Given the quantity of layoffs the studio endured in the last few years, I’d imagine there are plenty of former Blizzard veterans out there who would fit the bill.

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On Bluesky, Blizzard recreation designer Jeff Hamilton says the “fairly unique design role” will likely be a part of his crew, however his publish sadly offers no clues on what the mission even is—and neither does his LinkedIn web page. My greatest guess is the brand new Starcraft third-person shooter talked about in Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier’s 2024 e-book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment.

Schreier’s reporting stated Blizzard was “incubating” the mission below the helm of former Far Cry producer Dan Hay. The e-book would not point out a style or perhaps a timeframe for when it might be correctly introduced, however Blizzard is internet hosting a BlizzCon in September that might be the place it’s going to present up. Windows Central reporter Jez Corden corroborated Schreier’s reporting by way of his personal sources in January, too.

Now earlier than you get too excited, let’s keep in mind that Blizzard additionally spent six years on a survival recreation solely to cancel it after a large spherical of layoffs in 2024. It’s potential this recreation—very like the notorious Starcraft: Ghost shooter that by no means was—may not see the sunshine of day, particularly when the videogame business layoffs have not actually slowed down.

However, the time is ripe for Starcraft to come back again. The final recreation within the collection was launched 11 years in the past (except you rely the Nova Covert Ops marketing campaign that got here out 10 years in the past). An open-world shooter is an enormous leap from an RTS, however I think about Starcraft followers will take something at this level.