BlizzCon is back, and Blizzard did not spend its opening ceremony easing into things.
After a three-year absence, the show returned to Anaheim on September 12 with announcements spanning almost every corner of Blizzard’s catalogue. Some were expected. Others — particularly a completely new take on StarCraft and a third version of World of Warcraft — were much harder to see coming.
We already covered the reveal of Diablo V separately, but the opening ceremony had enough genuinely important news that it deserves a wider look. Here are the BlizzCon 2026 announcements that matter most.
StarCraft is finally back — as an open-world shooter
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the show was not Diablo V at all. Blizzard is bringing StarCraft back in Spring 2030, but not as the real-time strategy sequel many fans have spent years waiting for.
The simply titled STARCRAFT is an original open-world shooter set in the Koprulu Sector. Blizzard showed a cinematic centred on the United Earth Directorate preparing for war against the Zerg, marking a dramatic change of direction for a franchise synonymous with RTS gaming.
That choice is almost as interesting as the revival itself. StarCraft II arrived in 2010, and Blizzard has previously tried — unsuccessfully — to turn the universe into an action game with the cancelled StarCraft: Ghost. More than a decade later, it is going back to that idea on a much larger scale.
A 2030 launch means this one is a long way off, but after years of uncertainty around the franchise, the important news is simple: StarCraft is no longer dormant.
Diablo V is coming in Spring 2029
Blizzard also made the future of Sanctuary official. Diablo V launches in Spring 2029, and its premise immediately changes the usual formula: Sanctuary has already fallen and Diablo has won.
That gives the next game a darker starting point than another familiar battle to prevent catastrophe. Instead, players will enter a world living with the consequences of defeat.
There is much more on that reveal, including the first trailer, in our full Diablo V announcement coverage.
Diablo IV is coming to Nintendo Switch 2
The 2029 sequel may have taken the spotlight, but Diablo IV is far from finished. Blizzard confirmed that the game arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 15 alongside the new Season of Hell’s Legacy.
The season celebrates Diablo’s 30th anniversary by bringing back the Prime Evils, including Diablo himself, as well as Deckard Cain, anniversary rewards and equipment inspired by earlier games.
There is also a major class announcement. The Amazon returns to Sanctuary as Diablo IV’s next class in the first half of 2027, bringing the javelin-wielding archetype back to the series.
And Blizzard is taking Diablo beyond games: a new animated series set in the Diablo universe is now in development with Netflix. No release date has been announced.
It is a much bigger roadmap than we expected when we asked before the show whether Diablo IV was heading into BlizzCon with something to prove. Blizzard’s answer appears to be that it wants Diablo operating simultaneously as a current live game, a future sequel and a wider entertainment franchise.
World of Warcraft: Forever may be the most fascinating announcement
Blizzard now has another answer to the long-running question of what World of Warcraft should be.
World of Warcraft: Forever will exist as a third WoW experience alongside Modern and Classic. It returns to the Vanilla era but is not simply another recreation of the original game. Blizzard says Forever will explore new paths and previously unseen parts of that version of Azeroth.
The scale is substantial: three new zones, more than 1,000 new quests, nine new dungeons, two new raids and a new playable Skyborne race. The beta begins September 17, with the full launch scheduled for November 4, 2026.
That could make Forever one of Blizzard’s most consequential experiments in years. Instead of asking players to choose only between modern WoW and a preserved version of its past, Blizzard is effectively building a new future inside the old world.
Warcraft III gets its first new story in more than 23 years
Warcraft III: Reforged also received an announcement few would have predicted. Forsaken Kingdom is a new campaign covering the fall of Lordaeron and its transformation into the Undercity — the first new story campaign for Warcraft III in more than 23 years.
It arrives as part of update 3.0, which also brings a major graphical overhaul and a revamped World Editor. Better still, Blizzard made the update available immediately during BlizzCon.
WoW Midnight gets Talebound and Eclipse
Modern WoW has plenty happening too. Blizzard revealed Talebound, a new PvE action-RPG mode that can be played solo or with friends. Players move through replayable stories with bosses, puzzles, relics and rewards, while returning to the village of Quillgrave between runs to improve their characters. An early PTR preview is planned for October.
Blizzard also detailed Eclipse, the final major content update for Midnight. It adds the Mantle Vault zone, the Worldcore eight-boss raid, Thraegar’s Stand dungeon and the legendary caster dagger Midnight’s Edge as the conflict with Xal’atath moves toward its conclusion.
The studio also teased The Last Titan, the final chapter of the Worldsoul Saga, with more information promised early next year.
Overwatch gets Doctrine — and Sombra is changing roles
For Overwatch’s 10th anniversary, Blizzard introduced Doctrine, a vampire-inspired Support hero arriving with Season 5. Doctrine uses bat-like drones and life-draining abilities and is already playable for a limited preview during BlizzCon.
Blizzard also confirmed major reworks for Roadhog and Sombra, with Sombra making the especially significant move into the Support role. A new map, Watchpoint: Grimsvötn, is also on the way, while Season 5 concludes The Reign of Talon, Overwatch’s first year-long narrative arc.
The next Overwatch Spotlight is scheduled for February 2027, when Blizzard says it will reveal its larger plans for the year.
Heroes of the Storm is alive again
One of the smallest announcements may have produced one of the biggest reactions from long-time Blizzard fans.
Heroes of the Storm is getting a new hero. Xal’atath joins the Nexus on September 28, with a PTR release on September 14. For a game that has spent years largely outside Blizzard’s development spotlight, a genuinely new playable character is notable in itself.
Blizzard also hinted that there may be more to come. That is not a promise of a full-scale revival, but it is the clearest sign in some time that Heroes has not been forgotten.
Hearthstone adds the Monk
Hearthstone is expanding too. Reign of the Black Empire launches October 20 and revisits ancient Azeroth at the height of the Old Gods, introducing the Assemble mechanic that merges two cards into a new one.
The bigger long-term reveal is the Monk, arriving in March 2027 as Hearthstone’s first new playable class in six years. Battlegrounds will also add Aberrations as a new minion type on September 22.
The bigger BlizzCon story is Blizzard itself
Any one of these announcements could have carried a quieter showcase. Together, they make BlizzCon 2026 feel less like a collection of seasonal updates and more like Blizzard laying out the next several years of its identity.
Diablo V reaches into 2029. StarCraft reaches into 2030. WoW: Forever reimagines the company’s most important living world. Heroes of the Storm is receiving new content again. Even Warcraft III has a new campaign.
Not everything will arrive soon, and BlizzCon continues through September 13 in California, so more details may still emerge from individual panels. But after years in which some of Blizzard’s biggest franchises seemed to be waiting for their next chapter, the message from the opening ceremony was unusually clear: Blizzard wants all of them moving again.
Sources: Blizzard Entertainment’s official BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony recap, individual Diablo and World of Warcraft announcements, and Xbox Wire’s official BlizzCon recap. Featured image: Blizzard Entertainment / Xbox Wire.
