BlizzCon 2026 officially opened its doors with a particularly rich Opening Ceremony, during which Blizzard outlined the future of its main franchises. Between unexpected returns and completely new projects, the announcements involved practically the entire company's catalog, from Diablo to StarCraft, passing through Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone and even Heroes of the Storm.
Probably the most important surprise concerns StarCraft, finally ready to return with a completely new project. Simply titled STARCRAFT, the game will be an open-world shooter set in the Koprulu Sector and will arrive in the spring of 2030. Blizzard has not yet delved into structure and gameplay, but it is a radical change of perspective from the strategic origins of the saga and, above all, its return to the center of the studio's plans after a very long wait.
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No less important is the announcement of Diablo V, scheduled for spring 2029. The new chapter will start from a decidedly unreassuring premise: Sanctuary has fallen, the heroes have been defeated and Diablo has won. At the same time, support for Diablo IV will continue, which from September 15 will celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the series with the Season of Hell's Legacy, bringing back the Prime Evils and Deckard Cain along with rewards and items inspired by the different eras of the saga. A new Class Pack dedicated to the Amazon will also arrive in the first half of 2027, while on September 15 Diablo IV will also debut on Nintendo Switch 2. The Sanctuary universe will also expand away from video games. Blizzard and Netflix are developing a new animated series set in the world of Diablo, of which the plot, release date or further details have not yet been revealed. However, the company has hinted that this is only the first step in a broader strategy to bring its universes to other media.
Big news also for World of Warcraft. The Eclipse 12.2 update will continue the events of The Worldsoul Saga, with Xal'atath getting closer and closer to his goal of taking possession of the Soul of the World of Azeroth, while Blizzard has also offered a first preview of The Last Titan, the final chapter of the saga destined to close a story arc built through over twenty years of Warcraft. More information on the latter will arrive in early 2027.
The real surprise on the Warcraft front, however, is World of Warcraft: Forever, which will become a third experience parallel to Modern and Classic. The project will return to Vanilla-era Azeroth, but instead of just re-proposing the original content, it will explore new possibilities within that world, introducing three new zones, over 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, two raids and a new race called Skyborne. The beta will start on September 17, while the launch is set for November 4, 2026. Warcraft III: Reforged will also receive new narrative content for the first time in over 23 years. The Forsaken Kingdom campaign will take players back to the fall of Lordaeron and its transformation into the Undercity, accompanying the 3.0 update, which introduces a substantial graphic revamp, a revised World Editor and further improvements. In this case, there will be no need to wait: the campaign and update are already available.
For the tenth anniversary of Overwatch, Blizzard instead presented Doctrine, a new Season 5 Support inspired by the figure of the vampire, capable of stealing life energy from opponents and accompanied by particular bat-like drones. The season will also introduce major reworks for Sombra and Roadhog, the new Watchpoint: Grimsvötn map, and the conclusion of The Reign of Talon, the first annual story arc in the game's history. The next Overwatch Spotlight is already set for February 2027, when Blizzard will present its plans for the rest of the year. BlizzCon will also host QuestWatch, Overwatch's first official experiment as a tabletop RPG, with a one-shot adventure written by Matt Mercer together with the Narrative Team and Mercer himself in the role of Game Master. On the music front, YOASOBI will accompany the Overwatch World Cup with the first halftime show in the history of the event, while THE SSERAFIM will return to the stage for the closing of the event and are already the protagonists of a new collaboration available in the game.
Important news also for Hearthstone, starting with the completely renewed Journal, designed to collect missions, achievements and events and connect the different expansions more. Reign of the Black Empire will arrive on October 20, an expansion set in ancient Azeroth during the heyday of the Old Gods and characterized by the new Assemble keyword, which will allow you to fuse two cards to generate a more powerful one. Battlegrounds, on the other hand, will receive the new Aberrations minion type on September 22, while in March 2027 the Monk, the first new playable class added to Hearthstone in the last six years, will debut.
Even Heroes of the Storm is back on stage at BlizzCon. Xal'atath will enter the Nexus as a new hero on September 28, preceded by his arrival on the PTR on September 14. Blizzard has also hinted that there may be more news in the future, a particularly significant signal for a community that has continued to support the MOBA even during the years of lesser support.
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The Opening Ceremony of BlizzCon 2026 has therefore traced a roadmap that extends over several years: in the immediate future the new content of Diablo IV, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Warcraft will arrive, followed by World of Warcraft: Forever on November 4, while in the long term the eyes are inevitably focused on the two heaviest announcements of the event, Diablo V in spring 2029 and the new STARCRAFT in spring 2030. And with the rest of BlizzCon still underway, Blizzard has already anticipated that more details and news will arrive during the weekend panels.
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