Blizzard Pivots StarCraft to Shooters, Sony Blocks Last of Us Mod

Blizzard's BlizzCon announcements this week signaled major strategic shifts across two of its franchises. The studio revealed StarCraft's next chapter will abandon real-time strategy entirely for an open-world shooter launching in 2030, with Far Cry veteran Dan Hay directing the project. It's a bold departure for a series defined by competitive RTS play, though details remain thin beyond the genre overhaul itself. On a smaller but more immediate scale, Overwatch received its next support hero, Doctrine, a vampiric character joining an expanded roster alongside map returns and substantial hero reworks - notably converting Sombra fully into Support while repositioning Roadhog as a team-focused Tank.

Sony's handling of a The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered multiplayer mod this week highlighted ongoing tensions between fan creativity and corporate IP control. A community-built mod designed to fill the competitive multiplayer gap left in the remaster (and notably absent from the original Part 2 as well) was shelved after Sony contacted its developer requesting removal. The project had been ready to launch, making the cease-and-desist particularly stinging for fans who'd anticipated playing it.

Elsewhere, character announcements kept several major franchises in the conversation. Atlus rolled out a fresh trailer for Persona 4 Revival introducing Teddie with new English voice work from Laila Berzins, while the Melty Blood team locked down an April 2027 launch date for Twi-Lumina, their 2D fighting game sequel to 2021's Type Lumina. On the leadership front, Final Fantasy 7 Remake director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed his Creative Studio 1 team at Square Enix is now heading Kingdom Hearts 4's development, extending their reach beyond the FF7 project.

The week also carried sobering news: Polyarc, the developer behind the influential Moss VR series, announced its shutdown without disclosing specific reasons. The closure marks a notable loss for the VR space, where Moss had established itself as a defining experience.