Warcraft and StarCraft Veterans Make a PC RTS on Unreal Engine 5
Several key developers of StarCraft II and the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne expansion have set up a new studio, where they are working on a PC RTS. They have already raised over $34 million for this purpose.
- It's a PC RTS from the creators of Warcraft III and StarCraft II;
- The project is being developed on Unreal Engine 5;
- It will offer a co-op and PvP mode;
- It's not clear yet if it will offer a single-player campaign;
- There will be a map editor;
- The new RTS will not be just a prettier version of old ideas;
- The game will be revealed this year.
A new PC RTS is being developed by veterans of the genre who previously worked at Blizzard Entertainment. Their new studio is called Frost Giant and has already secured support from investors - sponsors have already donated tens of millions of dollars.
The studio was founded in 2020 by Tim Morten, who served as the director of StarCraft II, and Tim Campbell, who was the lead campaign designer in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. To date, Frost Giant has raised $34.7 million, bringing development into full swing some time ago. The game will be revealed this year.
Among the investors are companies such as Kakao Games (publisher of PUBG) and Riot Games. The recently organized campaign to raise financial support was the record-breaking for Frost Giant and enabled the team to fund the accounts of the creators to the amount of 25 million dollars.
Not much is known about the game itself so far. It is described as an "epic RTS", which will appeal to both veterans of the genre and newcomers. The game is also expected to satisfy fans of creating their own maps. The project will offer a co-op mode, as well as a PvP option suitable for esports matches. It is not known at this time whether the story campaign is planned, but given the amount of funds raised by Frost Giant we would be surprised if the title didn't offer it.
The game is being developed on Unreal Engine 5 and currently has a team of 50 people (the last round of investor fundraising allowed for increasing the crew by 20 developers). Previously, the developers helped create classic RTS games for Blizzard, but their new game will not be just a prettier copy of the old ideas. The authors want to introduce fresh solutions, and one of the priorities is to develop a project that will be friendly for people just starting out with the genre.
