BlizzCon 2026 delivered one of Blizzard Entertainment’s biggest announcement line-ups in years.
After returning to Anaheim for the first time since 2023, Blizzard used the event to unveil multiple new games, major expansions and updates across Diablo, Warcraft, StarCraft, Overwatch and Hearthstone.
From the surprise return of StarCraft to the announcement of Diablo V, and an entirely new version of classic World of Warcraft, there was plenty for Blizzard fans to take in.
Here’s everything announced at BlizzCon 2026.
StarCraft Is Back — As an Open-World Shooter
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire show was the return of StarCraft.
Blizzard announced a brand-new StarCraft game set in the Koprulu Sector, but it won’t be the RTS sequel many fans have been waiting for.
Instead, the new game is an original open-world shooter, currently targeting Spring 2030.
Details remain limited, but Blizzard’s reveal confirmed that players will once again return to the StarCraft universe, with the announcement cinematic focusing on the United Earth Directorate and the brutal realities of war.
After years of uncertainty surrounding the franchise, StarCraft is officially back.
Diablo V Announced
Blizzard also dropped another enormous reveal: Diablo V is officially in development.
The fifth mainline Diablo game is scheduled to arrive in Spring 2029.
However, Blizzard is taking the series somewhere it has never gone before.
Diablo has won.
Sanctuary has fallen, its heroes have been defeated, and players will enter a world where the forces of darkness have already achieved victory.
Blizzard says the central question of Diablo V is essentially what humanity must become when the world has already fallen.
While details on gameplay and classes are still being kept under wraps, Blizzard has already confirmed that more information will be revealed as development continues.
Diablo Is Also Coming to Netflix
Diablo isn’t staying on games consoles and PCs.
Blizzard confirmed that it is working with Netflix on a new animated series set in the Diablo universe.
There is currently no release date or extensive information about the project, but Blizzard says the series is part of a broader push to tell stories from its universes beyond gaming.
For Diablo fans, it’s another sign that Blizzard sees Sanctuary as a universe capable of supporting stories outside the games.
Diablo IV Gets the Amazon
Diablo IV isn’t being forgotten either.
The Amazon is returning to Sanctuary in the first half of 2027 as the game’s next class.
The Amazon will bring back her iconic bow and javelin gameplay, with Blizzard introducing the javelin as a new weapon type in Diablo IV.
The class will feature four gameplay archetypes — Champion, Skirmisher, Ranger and Commander — giving players several ways to build their Amazon.
Diablo IV Celebrates 30 Years
To celebrate three decades of Diablo, Blizzard announced Season of Hell’s Legacy for Diablo IV.
The season brings back the Prime Evils, including Diablo, Baal and Mephisto, while also bringing back Deckard Cain.
Players will be able to collect fragments of the Prime Evils and temporarily wield portions of their power, alongside anniversary rewards and equipment inspired by different eras of the franchise.
The season begins September 15.
Diablo IV is also coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 15, with the Age of Hatred Collection bundling the base game and its major expansions.
World of Warcraft: Forever Is Coming
One of Blizzard’s most surprising announcements was World of Warcraft: Forever.
Rather than simply releasing another Classic version, Blizzard is creating a new experience built around the original Azeroth.
Forever launches on November 4, 2026, with its beta beginning September 17.
Players will return to the original continents, progress to level 60 and experience new stories, dungeons, raids, systems and other content inspired by years of player feedback.
The game will also introduce new combinations of races and classes, alongside a completely new playable race: the Skyborne.
The project is positioned as a permanent home alongside both modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic.
Midnight’s Next Chapter Is Eclipse
Modern World of Warcraft isn’t being left behind.
Blizzard revealed Eclipse, the next major content update for World of Warcraft: Midnight.
The story will bring players directly into a confrontation with Xal’atath, who is closing in on the Worldsoul.
The events will take place within the Worldcore and will set up the final chapter of the Worldsoul Saga.
The Last Titan Is Coming
Blizzard also offered another look into the future of World of Warcraft with The Last Titan.
The expansion will return players to Northrend, while connecting events and characters from across Warcraft’s history.
Blizzard teased connections spanning everything from Ahn’Qiraj and the Frozen Throne to the Burning Legion, the Worldbreaker and the realms beyond life and death.
The Last Titan will serve as the final chapter of the Worldsoul Saga.
Warcraft III Gets New Content After More Than 20 Years
Warcraft III received a genuinely unexpected revival.
Warcraft III: Reforged – Forsaken Kingdom is now available and introduces a brand-new campaign focused on the Forsaken.
The story begins with the fall of Lordaeron and follows characters including Sylvanas Windrunner as the Forsaken establish themselves and eventually build the foundations of the Undercity.
The campaign includes a prologue, three main chapters and a new Forsaken Paladin hero unit.
It also introduces a new Definitive Edition graphics mode, gameplay improvements and expanded systems.
Hearthstone Gets the Monk
Hearthstone is getting its first new playable class in six years.
The Monk arrives in March 2027, bringing the class of Chen Stormstout and its trademark agile, adaptable playstyle to the Tavern.
Before then, Hearthstone players will be travelling back to ancient Azeroth for Reign of the Black Empire.
The expansion launches on October 20 and focuses on the Old Gods at the height of their power.
It also introduces the new Assemble keyword, which allows players to merge two cards into a more powerful one.
Battlegrounds is getting its own addition too, with the new Aberrations minion type arriving on September 22.
Blizzard also revealed an overhauled Journal, designed to connect Hearthstone’s quests, achievements and events into an ongoing narrative history of the game.
Overwatch Gets a Vampire Hero
Overwatch is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and Blizzard used BlizzCon to reveal its next hero.
Doctrine is a vampire-inspired Support hero who uses lifesteal abilities, a scepter and bat-like drones.
Players can already try Doctrine through a limited-time Hero Trial, with his full arrival scheduled for Season 5.
Season 5 will also introduce Watchpoint: Grímsvötn, a new Escort map set at a remote Icelandic prison.
Meanwhile, Sombra and Roadhog are receiving major reworks, with Sombra moving from the Damage role into Support.
The season will also conclude The Reign of Talon, Overwatch’s first year-long narrative arc.
Blizzard teased the next chapter of the game with a glimpse of Hero 55, while the next major Overwatch Spotlight is scheduled for February 2027.
Heroes of the Storm Gets Xal’atath
Perhaps one of the smaller — but more surprising — announcements was the return of attention to Heroes of the Storm.
Xal’atath from World of Warcraft is joining the Nexus as the game’s newest playable hero.
She arrives on September 28, with her PTR availability beginning September 14.
Blizzard also hinted that there could be more in store for Heroes of the Storm in the future — something that will undoubtedly interest the game’s long-standing community.
Blizzard Is Expanding Beyond Games
Blizzard also made it clear that its plans extend beyond video games.
The Diablo animated series with Netflix is the first major project announced as part of a broader push to bring Blizzard’s universes to other forms of entertainment.
With Diablo, Warcraft, StarCraft and Overwatch all possessing extensive lore and established fanbases, Blizzard appears increasingly interested in exploring those worlds outside of its games.
BlizzCon 2026 Was A Major Statement
BlizzCon 2026 was far more than a collection of routine updates.
Blizzard announced two major new games — StarCraft and Diablo V —, revealed a completely new direction for classic World of Warcraft with Forever, continued building the future of modern WoW, revived Warcraft III with new story content, introduced Hearthstone’s first new class in six years and continued expanding Overwatch.
The biggest announcements are still years away, with Diablo V targeting 2029 and StarCraft targeting 2030.
But Blizzard clearly wanted this year’s BlizzCon to send a message: after several years of uncertainty and fewer major announcements, the company has a lot planned for the future.
And for Blizzard fans, the wait for BlizzCon 2026 appears to have been worth it.