Ten Announcements in 94 Minutes: The BlizzCon 2026 Recap

Johanna Faries walked onto the stage at the Anaheim Convention Center on September 12, 2026, for the opening of BlizzCon 2026. « This is by no means my first BlizzCon, but it is my first one standing on this stage in this capacity, » she said. Ninety-four minutes later, ten announcements had rolled out across five franchises: Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and StarCraft, plus a detour into Netflix.

If you missed the broadcast, the stream was free, as our article explained; the weekend continues with the Arena World Championship finals, World of Warcraft’s global PvP arena tournament, this Sunday in Anaheim.

Heroes of the Storm: Xal’atath, the First New Hero in Years

Heroes of the Storm, kept on minimal maintenance since 2022, is getting its first new hero in several years. Xal’atath joins the Nexus: PTR, the public test realm, opens Monday, September 14, with release on the 28th, playable all weekend at the Blizzard Arcade. Faries said she had set one condition before returning to this stage: « I’m not going unless we have something real to share about this game in particular, » and promised « maybe another new hero in the near future. » Game Informer describes her only as a fighter, with no ability details, as our article on her arrival in the Nexus notes.

Netflix Wants to Adapt Diablo, and Maybe More

Johanna Faries confirmed that an animated Diablo series is in development with Netflix, with no title or release date yet. « Diablo is just the beginning, » she added: discussions are underway to adapt Overwatch and Warcraft as well. VGC notes no further details. She shared the stage with Spawn’s arrival in Diablo Immortal on September 29.

StarCraft Returns With a Ground-Level Shooter

Dan Hay, a former Far Cry director at Ubisoft according to Game Informer, received a rejection letter from Blizzard 28 years ago, before building the team behind the new StarCraft. « We are here to make StarCraft. It’s about damn time, » he said on stage. The game shifts perspective: an open-world, story-driven shooter. Working title STARCRAFT, targeted for spring 2030, with no platforms confirmed, as our article on the trailer shown on stage details.

Overwatch: Doctrine, Season 5, and the Post-Talon Era

Overwatch is getting ten new heroes this year according to Aaron Keller, including Doctrine, the game’s 54th hero, a vampire-themed Support: a scepter that heals allies and damages enemies, drones that speed up attacks, and an Infuse ability that turns a dash into flight. The Hero Trial, a temporary tryout, is available immediately, ahead of Season 5 on October 6, which adds the Watchpoint: Grímsvötn map, a Roadhog rework, Sombra’s move to Support, and closes out « The Reign of Talon » arc. Blizzard already teases a tenth hero for Season 6, as our article on Doctrine and Season 5 details.

Diablo 4: Season of Hell’s Legacy, the Amazon, and the Switch 2

Diablo 4 marks the franchise’s thirtieth anniversary with Season 15, « Season of Hell’s Legacy, » launching Tuesday, September 15: Deckard Cain guides the player through nightmares pitting them against Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo, before choosing which of the three soul shards to wear. The same day, Blizzard releases Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection on Nintendo Switch 2, with cross-play and cross-progression. A new class, the Amazon, arrives with the bow and javelin in the first half of 2027. Our article covers all three announcements.

Diablo V, Spring 2029: A World Already Fallen

Diablo V is announced for spring 2029, with a reversed premise: the heroes are gone, Sanctuary has fallen, and Diablo has already won. « The angels were supposed to save us. The Lord of Terror has returned, » the teaser announces. No more towns or safe havens: « what must you become when the world has already fallen? » According to Maxroll, which covered a panel rather than the ceremony, three classes are already known, including the return of the Demon Hunter and a new one, the Plague Knight. Our article covers the full announcement.

Hearthstone: Reign of the Black Empire and the Monk Class

Hearthstone announces the « Reign of the Black Empire » expansion for October 20, with a new keyword, Assemble, which merges two cards from a pool of more than 250. Battlegrounds, the game’s auto-battler mode, gets a new minion type, Aberrations, starting with patch 36.6.1 on September 22. Blizzard also confirms a Monk class, embodied by Chen Stormstout, the first new class in more than six years, arriving in March 2027. Our article breaks down the full schedule.

Warcraft: Eclipse and the Shadow of The Last Titan

On the Warcraft side, the World Soul saga reaches its midpoint with Eclipse, patch 12.2, the last major Midnight update. Xal’atath targets the World Core: « Void corruption critical. World core access denied, » the cinematic warns. A panel, separate from the ceremony, adds a new zone and an eight-boss raid, with no date. The Last Titan, the next expansion and « the culmination of more than two decades of WoW » according to Ion Hazzikostas, remains deliberately vague: more details are coming in early 2027. Our article rounds up what has leaked.

Warcraft III: The Surprise Return of Forsaken Kingdom

Warcraft III: Reforged gets its first new campaign in 23 years, Forsaken Kingdom, available immediately and playable on-site. It tells the story of the Forsaken’s liberation from the Scourge, the fall of Lordaeron, and the founding of Undercity, centered on Sylvanas Windrunner. The cinematic drops a chilling line: « Death is not the end, merely the beginning. » It serves as a bridge to WoW Forever, which kicks off right after, as our article on the campaign explains.

WoW Forever: The Real Announcement of BlizzCon 2026

World of Warcraft: Forever, confirmed by Holly Longdale as « yes, this is Classic Plus, » launches worldwide on November 4, at midnight Paris time, with a beta starting September 17. The game is set right after the fall of Lordaeron and before Molten Core, capped at level 60: no expansion planned, only updates, including two raids and nine dungeons by December 9. For a site that follows World of Warcraft’s competitive scene above all, this is the announcement that matters most out of all of BlizzCon 2026: not a skin, but a third permanent version of the game, alongside Retail and Classic. Our article breaks down the full content.

The Full BlizzCon 2026 Schedule

Here, in order, are all the dates announced during or after BlizzCon 2026, compiled from Blizzard’s official recap.

Date	Announcement
September 14, 2026	Xal’atath PTR in Heroes of the Storm
September 15, 2026	Season of Hell’s Legacy (Diablo 4), Diablo IV on Switch 2, Hearthstone patch 36.6
September 17, 2026	WoW Forever beta
September 22, 2026	Aberrations in Hearthstone Battlegrounds (patch 36.6.1)
September 28, 2026	Xal’atath’s release in Heroes of the Storm
September 29, 2026	Spawn in Diablo Immortal
October 6, 2026	Overwatch Season 5
October 20, 2026	Reign of the Black Empire (Hearthstone)
November 4, 2026	Global launch of WoW Forever
December 9, 2026	Opening of WoW Forever’s first two raids
February 2027	Overwatch Spotlight
March 2027	Monk class in Hearthstone
First half of 2027	Amazon class in Diablo 4
2027 (no precise date)	First details on The Last Titan
Spring 2029	Diablo V
Spring 2030	StarCraft

What the Ceremony Didn’t Say

Some details went unmentioned during this BlizzCon 2026: no firm date for Eclipse or The Last Titan, pushed to early 2027 at best. Xal’atath’s ability kit wasn’t detailed on stage. The platforms for the upcoming StarCraft remain unknown, and the Netflix series has no title or release date. Pricing for WoW Forever’s packs wasn’t announced either.