Blizzard’s mysterious StarCraft shooter is slowly taking shape, and the man lEading the charge is finally offering a small — but tantalizing — hint about its tone. Dan Hay, the former executive producer behind much of the modern Far Cry series, has suggested that his vision for the newly revealed spin-off could channel the gritty, lawless energy of the acclaimed HBO western Deadwood.
Who Is Dan Hay and Why Does He Matter?
If the name sounds familiar, it should. Hay spent roughly a decade at Ubisoft, where he oversaw the Far Cry franchise during its most successful era, from Far Cry 3 through Far Cry 5 and beyond. He then made the jump to Blizzard, where he was later revealed as the creative driving force behind the company’s return to the StarCraft universe — this time as a shooter rather than a real-time strategy game.
A Master of Open-World Chaos
Hay’s resume matters here. The Far Cry games he guided became famous for sprawling open worlds, unpredictable emergent gameplay, and memorably unhinged villains. If anyone knows how to build a frontier where players forge their own stories, it’s him — which is exactly why his latest comments have the internet buzzing.
“If We Were to Make Something That Felt Like a Deadwood in Space…”
Speaking about the project, Hay acknowledged he has to stay mostly tight-lipped about specifics, but he couldn’t resist offering one evocative comparison:
“If we were to make something that felt like a Deadwood in space I think that’s got something.”
For the uninitiated, Deadwood is widely considered one of the greatest western dramas ever made — a raw, profane, morally gray portrait of a lawless frontier settlement where opportunists, outlaws, and settlers collide. Translating that vibe into a sci-fi setting is a striking pitch.
Why the Comparison Actually Makes Perfect Sense
Longtime StarCraft fans know the Terran faction has always worn its western influences on its sleeve. The Koprulu Sector was originally settled by exiled convicts in ramshackle colony ships, and the Confederacy that followed was corrupt to its core. Space marines, backwater mining colonies, salvaged hardware, mercenaries, and neon saloon signage — the StarCraft universe is practically built for a rough-and-tumble frontier story. A “Deadwood in space” take wouldn’t be a departure from StarCraft; it would be leaning into what the setting was always secretly about.
A Second Chance for a StarCraft Shooter
This isn’t Blizzard’s first attempt at gunplay in the Koprulu Sector. The infamous StarCraft: Ghost, a stealth-action shooter starring the ghost operative Nova, was announced in 2002 and ultimately cancelled after years in development limbo. That failed project has haunted the franchise ever since, and Hay’s shooter represents Blizzard’s best shot at redemption for one of gaming’s most notorious “what could have been” stories.
Of course, big questions remain. Hay has stayed mostly quiet about whether the game will be a full open-world experience, a mission-based campaign, or something stranger entirely. No release window, platform details, or gameplay footage have surfaced yet. But between his Far Cry pedigree and the Deadwood framing, the ambition is clearly enormous.
Where to Catch Up on StarCraft While You Wait
If all this talk has you itching to revisit the series, both StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II remain essential plays. You can pick up Battle.net gift cards and game codes at TURGAME.com to jump back into the Koprulu Sector — or stock up on Blizzard credit for whenever this shooter finally surfaces.
One thing is certain: a lawless frontier town floating somewhere in Terran space, full of mercenaries and moral compromise, sounds like exactly the StarCraft story fans have been waiting decades to play.
Source: Kotaku