BlizzCon 2026: Everything announced as Blizzard reveals StarCraft, Diablo 5, a new World of Warcraft game, and more

I've got a bunch of new gameplay details for World of Warcraft: Forever for you:

It's been rumored for years, and Blizzard has finally confirmed it: World of Warcraft Classic Plus is real – and it's called World of Warcraft Forever.

Blizzard just announced that a new campaign is coming to 2002's Warcraft 3, and that it's going to be available today! Here's the details:

Blizzard says it isn't ready to reveal too much about The Last Titan, the final expansion of the ambitious Worldsoul Saga. Game director Ion Hazzikostas did intro a short teaser trailer, and noted that more information will follow once the studio is clear of the Midnight - Eclipse patch.

Hazzikostas says that The Last Titan is a "culmination of over two decades of World of Warcraft" and that the expansion will "lay the groundwork for what comes next" for the MMO. Oh, and better still: World of Warcraft: The Last Titan will launch in 2027.

World of Warcraft game director Ion Hazzikostas is here to announce what the future holds for its MMO. The Worldsoul Saga is set to conclude with the Last Titan expansion, but the Midnight era isn't over just yet. "From here on out, it's all gas – no brakes," says Hazzikostas, announcing the next major Midnight patch, titled 'Eclipse'.

Blizzard announced a new Hearthstone expansion called Reign of the Black Empire.

Diablo 5 is officially in development.

Diablo 5 pictures a world where Sanctuary has fallen, where "Diablo has won". The game is in early development, with Blizzard confirming that its release window is Spring 2029.

The team adds: "At the heart of Diablo 5 is the simple question: What must you become when the world has already fallen"

Well, it's about time! Blizzard revealed that the Amazon class is finally making its way to Diablo 4, featuring the iconic Javelin weapon. The Amazon class pack is expected to land in the first half of 2027.

The leaks and the rumors are true. Diablo 4: Age of Hatred Collection is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 15.

The Age of Hatred collection includes the Diablo 4 base game, the Vessel of Hatred expansion, and the latest Lord of Hatred expansion.

Blizzard is going big for Diablo's 30th anniversary. The studio already announced that a Diablo animated show is in development with Netflix, but that's only the beginning:

A lot of things have changed in the video game industry since Overwatch made its debut in 2016, but here's one that hasn't: Blizzard still makes world class cinematic trailers for its hero reveals.

An exceptionally lengthy and very gorgeous animated short showcased a mini-adventure, the sort that makes you wonder how a single-player Overwatch game never got off the ground. Anyway, I'm getting distracted: Blizzard just revealed a new hero, Doctrine.

Here's the first official blurb for the new StarCraft game:

"The sons and daughters of the Dominion answered the call when mankind needed them most. Their courage held the line. Their sacrifice brought us another day. Now the call comes to you. Carry their strength forward. No matter the cost. Join the Dominion."

Information was exceptionally light on the ground for the new StarCraft game in-development at Blizzard Entertainment. Here's what we do know:

Dan Hay arrived at BlizzCon 2026 to announce the long-awaited return of StarCraft, some 16 years after the release of StarCraft 2. But this isn't an RTS – "it's something new, an open world shooter where every step is earned," says Hay. "We are here to make StarCraft, and it's about damn time!"

Blizzard announced that it has entered a new partnership with Netflix to develop a Diablo animated series. No release date was given, but the Blizzard president did tease that there's more to come:

"It's in development on a new animated series for Diablo with Netflix. And as a big Diablo player myself, and I'm very excited to see this project come to life. Diablo is just the beginning. To our Overwatch community, to our Warcraft community... just know, there are great discussions being had."

It's time for the first BlizzCon 2026 announcement after a lengthy intro from Blizzard president Johanna Faries. The first announcement: Xal'atath is coming to Heroes of the Storm.

Faries says "thank you for caring about this game" and teases that a new hero is on the way in "the near future".

BlizzCon 2026 is officially underway.

Blizzard has kicked the event off with an exceptionally lengthy cinematic which includes Diablo, Overwatch, Hearthstone, StarCraft, and World of Warcraft – should that give you any indication of what to expect here.

Johanna Faries, Blizzard president, is on stage to speak to the "bonds" which connect Blizzard and its communities. "On behalf of everyone at Blizzard, thank you for being here."

Rumor has it we will finally see the long-awaited return of StarCraft at BlizzCon 2026. However, it won't be a sequel to 2010's StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty – in fact, reporting suggests it won't even be a real-time strategy game.

What I suspect we will see at BlizzCon 2026 is a brand new StarCraft third-person shooter, with development led by Dan Hay. The former creative director and executive producer of the Far Cry series has been at Blizzard for a number of years now, and it's this rumored project that many suspect he is leading.

Whether it's real, how much will be shown, and how far along it is in development remains to be seen. Thankfully, we don't have long to wait to find out now – BlizzCon 2026 officially kicks off in 15 minutes.

Wildcard Prediction: If a StarCraft Shooter is in development, it'll land as an Xbox Series X console exclusive.

Had you asked me back at BlizzCon 2023, I'd have probably told you that it would be the last year that Overwatch ever featured at one of these events. The Overwatch 2 era was a disaster for Blizzard, and there was a time where it really did feel as if the iconic hero shooter was on its last legs.

I have to give a massive amount of credit to the Overwatch development team. They have worked tirelessly to get the game back on track, and I think it would be difficult to argue with the assertion that the version of the game which exists today is the best that it's been in years.

The community is back on Blizzard's side, the content updates have been solid, and it feels like Overwatch has found new life. So, what does that mean for Overwatch at BlizzCon 2026? I suspect that Blizzard will unveil a new hero, offer up some nice community incentives, and try to get out of this thing without stepping on a rake.

Wildcard Prediction: We know that movie and TV is of massive importance to Xbox right now, so perhaps we'll learn that an Overwatch: Animated Series is finally moving forward into production.

World of Warcraft: Classic could be where we see one of the more significant announcements out of BlizzCon 2026. The game launched in 2019 – designed as a faithful recreation of WoW Vanilla, albeit running on modern infrastructure. Blizzard followed this with The Burning Crusade Classic, Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Cataclysm Classic, and last year's Mists of Pandaria Classic.

The problem facing Blizzard is two-fold: firstly, the release of Classic expansions inches ever-closer to modern World of Warcraft territory; and secondly, with every expansion release, WoW: Classic moves further away from the original Vanilla experience it was designed to recapture.

That's no doubt why Blizzard introduced WoW Classic: 20th Anniversary Edition in 2024 – retaining most features from the 2019 Classic release albeit with certain quality-of-life updates. This leaves Blizz at something of a crossroads, and I suspect we'll learn at BlizzCon 2026 which direction it intends to take.

There's long been rumors that Blizzard will introduce a brand new expansion for World of Warcraft: Classic, one which would effectively develop the game beyond The Burning Crusade-era were it being made from scratch today (rather than push into Wrath of the Lich King territory as Blizzard did back in 2008). It would be an exceedingly bold experiment, and one I'd love to see Blizzard attempt.

Wildcard Prediction: World of Warcraft: Classic Plus isn't just real but the closest thing we're ever going to get to a 'World of Warcraft 2'

BlizzCon 2026 is going to be a big year for World of Warcraft. I can feel it in my bones. At BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard Entertainment announced the Worldsoul Saga. It was an unprecedented moment, a multi-expansion narrative arc that was designed to celebrate the MMO's 20th anniversary and set up its world for the future. The War Within hit in 2024, with Midnight landing in 2026.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been pretty clear that she wants to see more of Xbox's biggest franchises faster. I have to wonder what that means for one of Blizzard's biggest. Diablo 4 launched in 2023, and became the fastest-selling game in Blizzard Entertainment history. The first expansion, Vessel of Hatred, landed in 2024 and was later followed by 2026's Lord of Hatred.

Under ordinary circumstances, I would say that it's far too soon for any significant content updates. But wonder whether we'll get a tease of what's to come next. I'd wager that Blizzard will announce that there will be one final expansion – perhaps setting up an encounter with the third Prime Evil: Baal, the Lord of Destruction – before the series pushes towards the next numbered instalment.

Wildcard Prediction: If Asha Sharma appears and utters a "Diablo 5" incantation, then somebody is going to owe me a beer.

BlizzCon 2026 is finally here. Well, almost – there are two hours to go! I'm going to spend that time giving you the ultimate Opening Celebration primer.

We're going to talk rumor and speculation, set some realistic expectations, and use the past to make predictions for the future.

As a reminder: BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony kicks off at 01:30 PM EDT / 06:30 PM BST, and it's expected to run for one hour and 15 minutes.