Everything Announced at BlizzCon 2026: Diablo V, StarCraft, WoW Forever and More

Blizzard came back to Anaheim with a two-day show and a slate that reaches all the way to 2030. Diablo V is real and dated for Spring 2029. StarCraft is back as an open-world shooter. World of Warcraft: Forever is a third, permanent version of WoW that launches in November. Warcraft III got its first new campaign in more than 23 years, Overwatch got a vampire, Hearthstone got a new class, and Heroes of the Storm got a new hero for the first time since 2020.

The Nerd Wire was on the ground at the Anaheim Convention Center for both days. This is the hub: every confirmed announcement, organized by franchise, with dates you can plan around and nothing we couldn’t verify against Blizzard’s own announcements. Bookmark it — we’ll keep updating as our deep dives, interviews and video land.

BlizzCon 2026 at a glance

Every dated announcement from the show, in order — what’s already out, what’s next, what lands in 2027 and what’s years away.

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1. Already out
2. Out nowWarcraft

   Warcraft III: Reforged — Forsaken Kingdom

   New ~30-hour campaign covering the fall of Lordaeron, plus the free 3.0 update.

   In this article ↓Read more →
3. Next up
4. Sept 14, 2026Heroes of the Storm

   Xal’atath hits the PTR

   The new hero becomes playable on the public test realm.

   In this article ↓Read more →
5. Sept 15, 2026Diablo

   Diablo IV: Season of Hell’s Legacy

   Season 15 begins — Deckard Cain and the Prime Evils return.

   In this article ↓Read more →

   Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection

   Launches on Nintendo Switch 2 the same day.

   In this article ↓Read more →
6. Sept 17, 2026World of Warcraft

   World of Warcraft: Forever beta

   Beta begins for Epic Pack and Collection buyers; runs through Oct 21.

   In this article ↓Read more →
7. Sept 28, 2026Heroes of the Storm

   Xal’atath joins Heroes of the Storm

   The first new HotS hero in six years goes live.

   In this article ↓Read more →
8. Oct 6, 2026Overwatch

   Overwatch Season 5

   Doctrine joins as a vampire-inspired Support, alongside the Sombra Support conversion, Roadhog rework and Watchpoint: Grímsvötn.

   In this article ↓Read more →
9. Oct 20, 2026Hearthstone

   Hearthstone: Reign of the Black Empire

   The Old Gods expansion launches.

   In this article ↓
10. Nov 4, 2026World of Warcraft

    World of Warcraft: Forever

    Blizzard’s permanent third version of WoW launches, 3:00 p.m. Pacific.

    In this article ↓Read more →
11. Coming in 2027
12. Early 2027World of Warcraft

    World of Warcraft: The Last Titan

    Blizzard says full details on the Worldsoul Saga’s finale are coming early next year.

    In this article ↓Read more →
13. March 2027Hearthstone

    Hearthstone Monk

    The first new class in six years arrives with the first 2027 expansion.

    In this article ↓Read more →
14. First half 2027Diablo

    Diablo IV: The Amazon

    Diablo IV’s first class pack — bow, javelin and four archetypes.

    In this article ↓
15. Much later
16. Spring 2029Diablo

    Diablo V

    Sanctuary has fallen. Diablo won. You play the Heir to Westmarch.

    In this article ↓Read more →
17. Spring 2030StarCraft

    STARCRAFT

    Blizzard’s original open-world shooter, set in the Koprulu Sector.

    In this article ↓Read more →

Scroll or use the arrows · ← → keys when the timeline is focused

In development — no confirmed date

• In development · no dateDiablo

  Diablo animated series

  In development with Netflix. No title, cast or date yet.

  In this article ↓Read more →

• In development · no dateWorld of Warcraft

  Midnight: Eclipse (12.2)

  Midnight’s final major update — Xal’atath in the worldcore. Confirmed, but no date.

  In this article ↓Read more →

Diablo

Diablo’s 30th anniversary was the show’s emotional center: Diablo V got a date, Diablo IV got its next year, and the franchise is heading to Netflix.

Diablo V: Sanctuary has fallen

The reveal’s tagline says it all: Sanctuary has fallen. Diablo won. For the first time in the series, you start in a world where the Lord of Terror has already triumphed, the heroes have been defeated, and Diablo rules from the throne of Westmarch — using Sanctuary’s people and souls as weapons in the Eternal Conflict, with the Heavens as his next target.

You play the Heir to Westmarch, on the run through a kingdom turned into an outpost of Hell. Your character has a mysterious connection to Diablo that makes you both a threat to him and uniquely vulnerable to his influence — and Blizzard says Diablo is present from the moment the game begins, not saved for the final act. Enemies include humans who joined his cults and “Dread Commanders,” corrupted people raised to rival the powers of Hell.

The game is set on the Western Continent, on a procedural landscape where terrain, points of interest, monsters and rewards can change when you return. Towns are gone as safe harbors; instead you build a caravan of allies who act as both vendors and companions. Two were named: a former Sister of the Sightless Eye and a stranded Treasure Goblin searching for meaning.

Classes and itemization

Three classes were revealed first: the returning Demon Hunter (twin crossbows) and Monk (fists and holy power), and the all-new Plague Knight, described as the embodiment of walking death — spreading disease and pestilence, then consuming it for power. Blizzard says these are only the first classes it will reveal.

Itemization is explicitly “inspired by Diablo II.” Blizzard is experimenting with stat requirements on gear, larger items once again take up more inventory slots, gear-based sets are returning, and crafting builds on Lord of Hatred’s approach with Diablo II-style Runes and Runewords.

Diablo goes to Netflix

Blizzard confirmed a new animated series set in the world of Diablo is in development with Netflix, with more details “in the future.” That is the entire official announcement — no title, format, showrunner, studio or release timing. On stage, Blizzard president Johanna Faries framed it as the start of more screen adaptations, not a one-off.

Diablo IV: Season of Hell’s Legacy

Season 15 is the 30th-anniversary season, and it plays the hits. Deckard Cain’s lost soul returns, and the seasonal questline sends you after echoes of Diablo beneath Tristram Cathedral, Baal at Arreat Summit and Mephisto in the Durance of Hate. You collect three Splinters of Evil and bear one at a time for a Fire, Cold or Physical “Iconic Power” with its own reputation track.

Also in the season: three tiers of Waking Nightmares (Capstone-style multi-level dungeons, standard dungeons like the Den of Evil, and one-room encounters like Queen Araneae), eight Soul Splinter gems (Andariel, Azmodan, Belial, Duriel, Lilith, Na-Krul, Skarn and the Black Soulstone), nine permanent legacy Uniques including Leoric’s Crown, Stone of Jordan and The Furnace, deterministic Mythic Unique crafting, an in-game mailbox (the Horadric Post), and a Rebirth option to move Eternal characters into the season. Patch 3.2.1 lands September 15 on all platforms.

The Amazon, Switch 2 and Diablo Immortal

The Amazon is coming to Diablo IV in the first half of 2027 as the game’s first “class pack.” She hails from the island of Skovos, has four archetypes — Champion, Skirmisher, Ranger and Commander — and wields a bow and the javelin, an entirely new weapon type for Diablo IV. Blizzard has not said what a class pack costs or how it’s sold. (Blizzard also told PC Gamer no further Diablo IV expansions are currently planned, though seasons will continue.)

Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection — the base game plus Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred — arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 15. And on the mobile side, a Spawn × Diablo Immortal crossover launches September 29; Todd McFarlane drew Spawn live on the Arena Stage on Day Two.

Day Two: the Amazon, up close

Sunday’s Diablo IV “What’s Next” panel premiered the Season of Hell’s Legacy trailer and put real detail on the Amazon. She is a female-only class built on three pillars — battle expertise, athleticism and mythical magic — and each of her four archetypes plays differently: the Champion is sword-and-shield melee with buffs, the Skirmisher is javelin hit-and-run, the Ranger is the bow specialist, and the Commander summons Valkyries. Blizzard also said the season’s Waking Nightmares bring back roughly 20 classic bosses, and that Hell’s Legacy and the seasons after it continue the story begun in Season of Death’s Awakening. On the money question, the answer was a deferral: “Class Pack details and purchase details will be available next year closer to release.”

StarCraft

More than a decade after Legacy of the Void, StarCraft is a new game again — and it is not an RTS.

Blizzard’s own recap put it bluntly: “it’s about damn time.” The last new StarCraft game was StarCraft II’s final campaign in 2015; since then the franchise has lived on through Remastered, Co-op and esports. What Blizzard showed in Anaheim is a different kind of StarCraft entirely — an open-world shooter, with the camera down on the ground rather than up above the battlefield.

The reveal cinematic follows a Terran marine through recruitment, training and deployment against the Zerg, ending on a field of dog tags. Hay described the pitch on stage as “an open-world shooter where every step is earned. Not from above, but down on the ground, in the mud, in the fire.” In interviews after the ceremony he talked about wanting the world to “push back and fight back” as you explore, and about a tone somewhere between StarCraft’s military sci-fi and, in his words, a “Deadwood in space.”

What Blizzard has not said matters just as much. There is no subtitle or numeral (the game is simply styled STARCRAFT), no platforms, no confirmation of first- or third-person, no word on multiplayer, and no gameplay footage. Reports about the game’s exact place in the timeline conflict, so we’re not repeating them. There was no dedicated StarCraft panel at the show.

World of Warcraft

Three Azeroths at once: Forever launches a permanent Vanilla-era WoW, Midnight gets its final update, and The Last Titan gets a tease.

World of Warcraft: Forever, explained

Here’s the short version for anyone whose first reaction was a confused “what is that”: WoW: Forever is a new, permanent third version of World of Warcraft. Modern WoW keeps moving forward through Midnight and The Last Titan. Classic keeps re-running old expansions. Forever goes back to the first year of WoW — the Vanilla era — and keeps building new content there permanently — Blizzard’s word is “evergreen” — rather than progressing through later expansions the way Classic does.

Blizzard’s own framing: “This is not a mode, a season, or a new version of Classic. It is a promise to keep building this world with the community, guided by your feedback, and made to last.” It grew out of what the team learned from WoW Classic and Season of Discovery, and the timeline sits after the events of the new Warcraft III campaign and before Molten Core. Blizzard itself never uses the community’s “Classic+” label.

What’s actually new in Forever

Progression philosophy. Blizzard laid out four pillars — approachable and familiar, the world as the main character, the journey before the destination, and protecting social play — and drew two hard lines: no flying mounts, no level scaling. Level 60 stays the cap. Progression widens instead of climbing through a Legacy system for alts and a new Camping feature where players craft campfires and contribute through professions for shared buffs. Existing classes get new abilities, talent updates and new race/class combinations.

Quality of life, on your terms. Opt-in transmog, modern or Classic visual presets, both HD and SD character models (with restored Classic animations on HD models), official gamepad support, and rendering upgrades like flowing rivers in Elwynn and mist in Darkshore.

Day Two deep dive. Sunday’s “Evolving a Timeless World” panel went further: professions get more than 600 new recipes and food buffs get a major update; Legacy Points are shared across your characters (each character can spend up to 16, and up to 65 can be earned to start); grouping is “realmless,” pooling players by ruleset — Normal, PvP and RP, with Hardcore available after launch — rather than by server; six new race/class combos were named, including Undead Paladins, Gnome Priests, Human Hunters, Dwarf Shamans, Orc Mages and Troll Warlocks; and racials are being redesigned around two active and two passive traits. Blizzard’s own recap of that panel is live on its news site.

How to get in, and what it costs

Forever itself is included with a normal WoW subscription or Game Time — no box price. The optional Skyborne Heroic Pack unlocks the Skyborne race, Zephras Isle, early name reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw mount and one Invite-A-Friend launch code. The Skyborne Epic Pack adds beta access from September 17, 30 days of Game Time from launch and more cosmetics. The limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection (through January 11, 2027) bundles the Epic Pack with Warcraft III: Reforged and the Forsaken Kingdom campaign. A physical Collector’s Edition with a 13-inch Dwarf-and-Bear statue is on the Blizzard Gear Store for $150 while supplies last. Blizzard’s announcement posts don’t list the digital pack prices; check the Battle.net Shop for current pricing.

Midnight: Eclipse (12.2)

Eclipse is the final major content update for Midnight, and it’s where the Worldsoul Saga’s first act comes to a head. Xal’atath is closing in on Azeroth’s Worldsoul, and the story moves into the worldcore itself, pitting the Light-wielding forces of Azeroth against her Devouring Host.

Blizzard did not give Eclipse a release date or window at the show. Patch 12.1.5, currently on the PTR, comes first.

The Last Titan: a tease, not a reveal

Let’s be precise about this one. Blizzard showed a short sneak peek of The Last Titan, the third and final expansion of the Worldsoul Saga, and described it as “the culmination of over two decades of Warcraft… while laying the groundwork for what comes next” The short teaser was set in Northrend. That’s it. No release window, no features, no zones, no level cap. Blizzard’s only commitment is more information early next year, after Eclipse. Anything you’ve seen labeled as a 2027 release date is an outlet’s inference, not a Blizzard statement.

@the.nerd.wire

THEY ACTUALLY DID IT. Years of WoW players asking for “Classic+” and Blizzard just walked onto the BlizzCon stage and announced World of Warcraft: Forever. Basically: the spirit of Vanilla WoW, but instead of simply replaying history, Azeroth gets a new future. And yes, the room absolutely lost its shit. #WoWForever #WoW #WoWClassic #ClassicPlus #blizzcon

♬ original sound – Spider Woodworks

Warcraft III

For the first time in more than 23 years, Warcraft III has a new story — and it’s out now.

Forsaken Kingdom answers a question Warcraft has left open since The Frozen Throne in 2003: what happened in Lordaeron between Arthas walking away and Sylvanas welcoming players to the Undercity? The campaign starts with Last Days of Lordaeron, a four-mission linear prologue seen through the eyes of the Capital City Guard — the capital, the sewers that will become the Undercity, Andorhal and post-Culling Stratholme — then opens into the main Forsaken Kingdom campaign, which Blizzard describes as a soft open-world RPG structure inspired by the old Rexxar campaign, with a new inventory, gear slots, hero kits and talent systems.

New characters Garek Bandarion, a newly risen Forsaken warrior, and Dark Ranger Anya lead, alongside returning figures including Sylvanas, Putress, Varimathras, Sally Whitemane, Renault Mograine, Arthas and Kel’Thuzad. Choices made here are meant to echo into World of Warcraft: Forever, which picks up the timeline directly afterward.

Why it’s a big deal: this is the first new Warcraft III story since The Frozen Throne, and the 3.0 update brings the first new hero in more than 20 years — the Forsaken Paladin, a neutral Tavern hero with Righteous Fury, Consecration, Sacred Aura and Cleansing Fire, free in multiplayer. Definitive Edition, Reforged and Classic graphics can all play together, and the visual upgrade comes at no extra cost to anyone who already owns Reforged.

Overwatch

Ten years in, Overwatch closed its first year-long story arc with a vampire, two reworks, a prison map and a K-pop finale.

Doctrine is Overwatch’s idea of a vampire: he manipulates lifeforce with a scepter, infusions and bat-like drones, healing allies and draining enemies. Story-wise, he was imprisoned at Watchpoint: Grímsvötn until Doomfist broke him out — the event that “sets the final chapter in motion” for the Reign of Talon. Blizzard hasn’t published a formal ability breakdown yet; in the trial build his kit centers on an Infuse resource that supercharges his next ability, drones that boost an ally’s attack speed, and an ultimate, Deliverance, that cuts enemy max health while giving allies overhealth.

The two reworks are the biggest balance story of the year. Sombra becomes a Support, with Hack and Virus replaced by healing-and-debuff tools; associate game director Alec Dawson said the goal was to break the triangle of stealth, lethality and silence. Roadhog loses guaranteed one-shots — his primary fire becomes a two-round burst and he gains a projectile-absorbing Trash Compactor — shifting power away from the hook combo. Both arrive with Season 5.

Also confirmed for the season: the long-awaited continuation of Dokiwatch, the delayed Unvaulted Passes arriving at the start of Season 5, and an in-game LE SSERAFIM collaboration that’s already live. The band closed the show on Sunday night, and YOASOBI played BlizzCon’s first-ever halftime show during the Overwatch World Cup on Day Two. Everyone who plays a match after the Opening Ceremony gets a Mythic Voucher good for one eligible complete Mythic bundle from Seasons 1–14 — earn and redeem it by October 5.

Two event-only footnotes worth keeping: QuestWatch, a live, non-canon Overwatch tabletop one-shot written by Matt Mercer and the narrative team, ran on the Main Stage on Day Two; and a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners × Overwatch collaboration was teased during the Battle.net panel with CD Projekt Red, with CD Projekt Red saying more is coming in 2027.

Hearthstone

The Old Gods rule the Tavern in October, a redesigned Journal ties it all together, and the Monk arrives in March.

Reign of the Black Empire goes back to Azeroth’s earliest age, when C’Thun, N’Zoth, Yogg-Saron and Y’Shaarj ruled a corrupted world and fought the Titan-forged armies. The four Old Gods are Legendary Neutral minions, and you can run only one per deck. Each has four powerful once-per-game abilities and, instead of attacking, invokes two of them per turn; once all four are spent, the god is free to attack. The set’s keyword is Assemble: add a minion to your hand, then replace part of its text with text from another minion in a curated pool. Blizzard hasn’t announced the card count.

The Monk is the headline for 2027. Blizzard describes the class as agile and adaptable with a fluid playstyle, and the roadmap slots it into the first expansion of 2027 alongside a Core Set refresh and Standard rotation. How players unlock Monk — free or paid, and with which set — hasn’t been announced; the team told Inven Global it isn’t ready to share those details. Monk was the community’s top pick in a BlizzCon 2023 survey.

Battlegrounds‘ new Aberrations are built around discarding: each friendly Aberration that dies advances your Deity’s progress, and after three sacrifices either C’Thun or Y’Shaarj (one per game, chosen at random) joins the fight. Naga rotate out. Battlegrounds Season 14 follows in Patch 37.2. Also on the roadmap: a 2v2 Tavern Brawl, a Winter Veil event, more new Brawls, a Pandaren minion type further out, and a new Boss Fight event type. As always, Blizzard notes content and timing are subject to change.

Heroes of the Storm

The Nexus gets its first new hero since 2020 — and a carefully worded “maybe more.”

This was the biggest cheer of the opening ceremony that wasn’t for a new game. Xal’atath — Midnight’s big bad — is the first new Heroes of the Storm hero since Hogger in December 2020, arriving as a ranged assassin whose kit escalates the longer a teamfight runs. Blizzard credited the announcement to “those of you who have continued to carry the torch for HotS over the years.”

Some caution on the framing, because it matters to this community: Blizzard has not said Heroes of the Storm is back in full development. Beyond the ceremony’s “there may be even more to come,” the accompanying developer note says Blizzard will continue to release update patches, is looking at additional Heroes in the future, and will use player feedback and engagement to decide where to devote development resources. Reporting from the show says future updates depend on how Xal’atath is received. Treat anything beyond that as hope, not news.

More from BlizzCon

The rest of the weekend: the Battle.net panel, esports, the show floor and the cosplay.

Battle.net turns 30. Sunday’s panel with CD Projekt Red brought Cyberpunk 2077 to Battle.net later this year, showed the first in-engine look at the Geralt-themed Barbarian skin coming to Diablo IV with The Witcher 3’s Songs of the Past expansion, and teased the Overwatch × Edgerunners collaboration. The Witcher 3 Remastered arrives on Battle.net September 29.

Esports. The Overwatch World Cup finals, the Hearthstone Masters Tour World Championship, and WoW’s AWC and MDI Grand Finals ($600,000 combined) all played out in Anaheim, alongside a $100,000 Blizzard Classic Cup that put Warcraft III’s new Definitive Edition and Forsaken Paladin on a stage for the first time. In Hearthstone, China’s OTGxhh took the Masters Tour title 3–1 over XiaoT, per HearthPwn’s bracket; we’ll link full results from our esports coverage as Blizzard publishes them.

The show itself. BlizzCon ran September 12–13 at the Anaheim Convention Center, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days, with a Charity Night on Friday and a redesigned walkthrough merch store. Blizzard didn’t sell a Virtual Ticket this year; instead, in-game BlizzCon Bundles were sold on the Battle.net Shop through September 28, and the livestreamed programming was free on YouTube, Twitch and Battle.net (musical performances were in-room only). Blizzard’s 30-years-of-Diablo celebration ran alongside, with Twitch drops through September 15. As for the next one: president Johanna Faries told Inven Global there’s no fixed cadence for future BlizzCons — “whenever we decide to hold BlizzCon, it needs to be an event packed with content.”

The cosplay

As always, half the show was outside the halls. A few favorites from our camera roll — captions kept general on purpose; if you’re pictured and want a credit, get in touch.

When is everything from BlizzCon 2026 coming out?

Every confirmed date and window from the show, in order. Windows are Blizzard’s own wording; where Blizzard hasn’t given a date, we say so.

BlizzCon 2026: quick answers

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