The subject of StarCraft: Ghost came up during my interview with StarCraft II art director Didier as a joke at first. I asked him when StarCraft: Ghost was coming out, and he replied, "Didn't you get it? It was out at GC in Germany, running on the PS Slim or whatever they're calling it," he teased. I mentioned reading the StarCraft: Ghost novel, and how it really made me want to play the game that didn't exist. "Oh it exists," he replied.

"We actually looked at a lot of the art assets so we could include them in specific missions in the game, or if there was a specific installation in Ghost that we wanted to include in StarCraft II. We look at all our assets."

He likens it to the situation with the cancelled Warcraft: Lord of the Clans adventure game. "Originally Lord of the Clans was like that. We cancelled Lord of the Clans for a lot of similar reasons, but Thrall ended up as the biggest character in the Horde. I'm not saying that's Nova, but we're definitely not throwing away the lore."

It's good to know that all of that StarCraft: Ghost development didn't go to waste. If you're interested in of the lore behind Ghost and its lovely protagonist Nova, be sure to check out the StaCraft: Ghost Nova novel, recently featured in our 2009 Summer Reading List.

It never was technically canceled. It's just a focus thing for us right now. We've got a finite amount of development resources and a lot of different things that we want to focus on so there's always the possibility, but right now we're spending our time on "World of Warcraft" and our expansion "Wrath of the Lich King" and "StarCraft II".

Depressed about Blizzard dragging Starcraft: Ghost behind the shed? Don't be: it was a Terry Schiavo style mercy euthanization.

Still, in case you're regretting that Starcraft: Ghost tattoo you perhaps prematurely tattooed into the meaty flesh above your nose, not all is lost. Bizarrely enough, a novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido called Starcraft: Ghost - Nova is coming out shortly, serving as a prequel for the cancelled game.

Here's a snip of the plot, from a Firing Squad interview:

The game was going to be a first-person shooter, in which you-the-gamer play Nova, a Ghost — basically a powerful telepathic and telekinetic assassin with excellent martial arts and weapons skills. What NOVA the novel does is tell the character's backstory and show how she got the point she's at in the game.

Nova Terra started out as a scion of the Old Families on Tarsonis. Because of her family's position, her telepathic talents have been kept a secret — both from the Confederacy of Man and from Nova herself. At least, it's kept secret until tragedy strikes the Terra family, and Nova finds herself in the worst part of Tarsonis City, being chased by a Wrangler, a special agent trained to seek out telepaths to be brought into the Ghost program. The novel follows Nova's tribulations in "the Gutter," and the Wrangler's attempts to track her down.

'Nova Terra'? Jeez. Florian Eckhardt

Starcraft: Ghost Novel Interview [Firing Squad]

Full PR follows.

Blizzard Entertainment(R) Focuses Console-Development Plans on Next-Gen Platforms
IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—March 24, 2006—Blizzard Entertainment Inc. today announced plans to focus the company's console-development efforts on the next generation of console platforms. As part of this shift in focus, Blizzard(R) will indefinitely postpone production on StarCraft: Ghost(TM) while evaluating opportunities for utilizing the additional power of the new and upcoming console systems.

"Like many in the industry, we've been impressed with the potential of the new consoles, and we're looking forward to exploring that potential further," stated Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "In addition to allowing us to determine the best course for StarCraft: Ghost, this review period will help us lay the groundwork for our future console games."

In the months ahead, Blizzard will further evaluate the next-gen console technology and determine the best plan of action for offering a StarCraft(R) console-gaming experience that meets the company's expectations and those of its players. Further specifics on plans for StarCraft: Ghost and Blizzard's future console games, as well as platform and release information, will be revealed at a later date.

Cubed3 is reporting on rumors that the Gamecube version of StarCraft: Ghost has been nixed. Buzz that the stealth action game has been canned for Nintendo s console apparently stem from a Q&A session during BlizzCon, but no official confirmation yet.

Rumour | StarCraft Ghost s Ascension to GameCube Heaven [Cubed3]

GameSpy got some very enviable hands-on time with StarCraft: Ghost. The shooter looksl like it s been worth the wait. Initially GameSpy reported that the game was completely junked when it was moved from developer Nihilistic to Swinging Ape, but apparently that wasn t the case.

Editor's Note: Subsequent to the publication of this article, Blizzard sent us the following clarification: "While our console-development team has put a lot of work into the game, they did not completely start over. Rather, their goal was to expand and evolve the strong foundation that Nihilistic helped us establish for StarCraft: Ghost. Most of that work has involved making changes to the graphics engine, adding multiplayer to the game, and incorporating a number of vehicles familiar to StarCraft RTS players and some that are completely new to the universe."

StarCraft : Ghost (Xbox) [GameSpy]