The game's esports scene is quite possibly the biggest reason for execs and game developers to revisit the franchise — whether for a StarCraft III, a reboot, or a sci-fi show or film.
In 2024, Stormgate, a free-to-play real-time strategy (RTS) game, was released. For the uninitiated, if Stormgate looked like a StarCraft wannabe, that's because the game was made by the guys who worked on StarCraft II.
Unfortunately, Stormgate was met with lukewarm reactions from gamers who were expecting the revival of the beloved sci-fi RTS, StarCraft. Fortunately, Frost Giant Studios co-founder, Tim Morten, who also had a hand in the development of StarCraft II years ago, responded to the backlash well.
In a recent interview, Morten stated he hopes StarCraft fans would stick with the game as Frost Giant aims to meet their "very high expectations." Stormgate is still labeled an Early Access game on Steam today, and Morten hopes the studio will be able to repay fans' patience in the near future. He likened the development process of the game to StarCraft II, which took six years to develop before becoming the iconic competitive RTS it remains today.
Of course, patience is not a common trait among StarCraft fans. Aside from waiting for years for a sequel, reboot, or even remaster of the RTS classic, the fandom has also been teased into waiting for a live-action adaptation. A few years ago, there were rumors that Netflix was going to give StarCraft its own show, along with other iconic video game titles like Overwatch and Diablo.
While there are yet to be updates on the StarCraft adaptation, recent developments in the gaming industry just may lead to it happening. Below, we'll look at StarCraft's lasting esports legacy and why the resurgence of sci-fi in gaming may be a good sign for fans of the RTS franchise:
StarCraft's esports legacy
If we're making a case for the long-awaited StarCraft adaptation, the game's esports scene is quite possibly the biggest reason for execs and game developers to revisit the franchise — whether for a StarCraft III, a reboot, or a sci-fi show or film.
Even if StarCraft may not sound like the biggest esports scene on the market right now, the game's niche competitive community is still very much alive. The inaugural Esports World Cup in 2024 saw the second-biggest StarCraft esports event in the year, and also the first time the title offered a $1 million prize pool. Hosted in Riyadh, the tournament brought together StarCraft's best esports players into a 16-player group stage, leading up to the crowning of Team Liquid's Clem was the first-ever Esports World Cup StarCraft II champion, taking home $400,000 of the prize pool.
StarCraft's lasting esports impact is also felt through its esports betting community. Unlike most other esports titles, StarCraft is played as a 1v1 fight, which means fans who participate in StarCraft betting don't have to factor in different team members' conditions and win rates when placing bets. Crypto betting platform Thunderpick features various odds types for betting on the game, from American odds to straightforward Fractional odds. Thunderpick's crypto support also levels up the betting experience, on top of offering hardcore StarCraft II fans a chance to complete Esports Quizzes to test their knowledge of the game and its esports scene.
With so many people continuing to watch and root for StarCraft esports, we can only imagine how exciting and entertaining a StarCraft film or TV adaptation would be — almost two decades since the last StarCraft release.
The sci-fi resurgence
Finally, aside from the game's thriving esports scene, there has also been a sci-fi resurgence in pop culture and popular media nowadays. For example, the Star Wars franchise continues to dominate the big screen and TVs around the world through space Westerns like The Mandalorian, even if it faces controversies surrounding background actors being potentially replaced by AI.
Meanwhile, beloved Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojima recently announced the sequel to his sci-fi action-adventure game, Death Stranding, to be released later in 2025. Like many big Hollywood productions, Death Stranding boasts a star-studded cast led by The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus, including actors Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and Margaret Qualley.
The recent release and critical acclaim of the co-op game Split Fiction, the first positively received Electronic Arts title in a long time, is also an indication that the gamer crowd — and the Internet community — yearns for good science fiction worlds and narratives.
If a StarCraft adaptation is to push through, whether for the big screen or on Netflix, it's easy to imagine it would fit right in with the rest of the sci-fi resurgence in pop culture. It also wouldn't be the only video game adaptation in recent years, joining the company of League of Legends' Arcane series, the recent Borderlands adaptation, and the high-grossing Super Mario Bros. film featuring Chris Pratt.
