BlizzCon 2026: Every announcement from Blizzard’s opening ceremony
From Diablo V, to StarCraft, and beyond
Blizzard held its big opening ceremony for BlizzCon 2026 on Saturday, which featured new game announcements and updates.
The big reveals were Diablo V, which is aiming for a 2029 release, and a new open-world StarCraft shooter, which is coming even later in 2030.
Blizzard also revealed a new World of WarCraft variant, WoW Forever, which will run alongside Classic and the vanilla game.
“What a special moment this is, and a chance to gather around the games, the universes, the bonds that continue to inspire our work, our friendships, and our lives,” Blizzard president Johanna Faries said in her address to the BlizzCon audience.
“My hope is that our coming together can remind the world why community like this matters so much, why artistry matters, why creativity matters, and why making and playing games will matter always.”
Here’s everything announced at BlizzCon 2026, in Blizzard’s words:
- World of Warcraft: Forever
- Carve new paths and explore unseen corners of Azeroth in World of Warcraft: Forever, our new, third World of Warcraft experience alongside Modern and Classic. Forever launches November 4 (Beta starts September 17) with three new zones, over 1,000 new quests, nine new dungeons, two new raids, the new Skyborne race, and so much more.
- Diablo V
- Diablo’s next era begins with Diablo® V, launching in Spring 2029. Sanctuary has fallen, and Diablo has won. Players must confront the question at the heart of this new chapter: what must you become when the world has already fallen?
- StarCraft
- A new mission calls: STARCRAFT returns with a story-driven, open-world shooter, coming Spring 2030!
- Blizzard Entertainment
- After decades of bringing entire universes to life through games, Blizzard is partnering with some creative powerhouses to tell even more stories beyond gaming across new screens. An animated series set in the world of Diablo is in development with Netflix. More details will be shared in the future, but this is only the beginning, with even more taking shape across the Blizzard universe.
- Warcraft III
- With its first new storyline in over 23 years, Warcraft RTS is back! Warcraft III Reforged’s new campaign Forsaken Kingdom is available today, exploring the tragic fall of Lordaeron and how it came to be known as the Undercity, alongside the 3.0 update which brings major improvements to the Warcraft III experience including a graphics update and revamped World Editor.
- Heroes of the Storm
- Xal’atath is joining Heroes of the Storm as its newest Hero, arriving in the Nexus on September 28, available on PTR September 14. There may even be more to come for Heroes in the future!
- Diablo IV
- Diablo IV: Season of Hell’s Legacy begins September 15, bringing the franchise’s 30-year legacy into the game with the return of the Prime Evils and Deckard Cain, alongside rewards and gear inspired by every era of Diablo.
- The legendary Amazon arrives in the first half of 2027 in Diablo IV’s first class pack, wielding her iconic bow alongside the javelin.
- The Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection arrives on Nintendo Switch™ 2 on September 15, offering cross-platform play, cross-progression, and an evolving endgame wherever players choose to play.
- World of Warcraft
- At the midpoint of The Worldsoul Saga in the Midnight expansion, World of Warcraft’s next major update Eclipse (12.2) sees Xal’atath drawing ever closer to her goal of claiming Azeroth’s Worldsoul.
- WoW’s next expansion The Last Titan stands to be the culmination of over two decades of Warcraft, bringing an extraordinary chapter of storytelling to a close while laying the groundwork for what comes next. Players can expect more information to come early next year.
- Overwatch
- Season 5 brings new Support HeroDoctrine, major hero reworks for Sombra and Roadhog, the new map Watchpoint: Grimsvötn, along with the conclusion of The Reign of Talon, the first year-long narrative arc in Overwatch history.
- YOASOBI will perform at BlizzCon’s first-ever esports halftime show during the Overwatch World Cup. LE SSERAFIM returns to the BlizzCon Main Stage to close out BlizzCon weekend with a live performance, a prelude to their upcoming U.S. tour.
- Celebrating their return to BlizzCon, a new LE SSERAFIM in-game collaboration is available now.
- With even more news and announcements in store, the nextOverwatch Spotlight arrives in February 2027.
- Hearthstone
- The Monk, Hearthstone’s first new class in over six years, bursts onto the scene in2027, bringing its signature fluid playstyle and adaptable nature to the Tavern.
- Hearthstone’s next expansion Reign of the Black Empire takes Hearthstone back to the earliest age of Azeroth, long before the Old Gods were imprisoned. The new keyword Assemble merges two cards into a powerful new one, opening the door for some wildly unpredictable combinations.
- The overhauled Journal is jam-packed with stories from each expansion, with all of the quests, achievements, and events from past adventures brought together in one place.
- Battlegrounds is adding a new minion type: Aberrations, interdimensional beings born of the Old Gods’ influence.
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