Day 1 of BlizzCon 2026 has come to an end with some huge announcements under its belt. Diablo dominated, with Diablo V confirmed for spring 2029 alongside an animated Netflix series, the Amazon class coming to Diablo IV in 2027, and Diablo IV heading to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 15.
If spring 2029 already feels unbearably far away, StarCraft may require even more patience. Blizzard announced a brand-new open-world shooter set in the StarCraft universe, but that one is targeting spring 2030.
One thing not keeping us waiting quite so long is World of Warcraft: Forever. Blizzard describes Forever as a permanent third World of Warcraft experience alongside modern and Classic WoW. Its beta begins Thursday, September 17, ahead of its November 4, 2026 launch.
There was plenty more World of Warcraft news too. Blizzard revealed Eclipse, the final major content update for Midnight, and showed the first teaser for The Last Titan, the next full expansion and the finale of the Worldsoul Saga, currently targeting 2027.
And, as BlizzCon fans have come to expect, the announcements did not end with the Opening Ceremony. Day 1 continued with developer panels, deeper dives, and a few more surprises.
Diablo v Leads a Huge Day 1
Diablo V was undoubtedly one of the biggest announcements of BlizzCon 2026.
The new game begins in a very different Sanctuary, with the Lord of Terror already victorious. Players step into the role of the Heir to Westmarch and have to deal with the world left behind.
Blizzard followed the initial reveal with its Diablo V: Forging the Next Era panel, confirming the first three playable classes. Demon Hunter and Monk are returning, while the Plague Knight is an entirely new class built around spreading and consuming disease. Diablo V is currently scheduled for spring 2029.
There is plenty happening in Diablo IV before 2029, though.
Season of Hell’s Legacy launches September 15 as part of Diablo’s 30th anniversary celebrations. The season revisits several major figures from Diablo’s past, with the Prime Evils and Deckard Cain returning alongside a collection of anniversary-themed rewards.
The Amazon will then become the next Diablo IV class in the first half of 2027. This is a new class for the existing game, rather than a separate Diablo release.
Diablo IV is also coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 15, giving players another way to play the existing game rather than introducing a new Switch-exclusive Diablo title.
And then there is Netflix.
Blizzard confirmed that a new animated series based on Diablo is in development with Netflix. Blizzard president Johanna Faries also suggested this may only be the beginning, specifically mentioning the Overwatch and Warcraft communities while saying other discussions are taking place.
Nothing beyond Diablo has actually been announced yet, though, so we are firmly in teasing territory for now.
StarCraft Returns, but Not as an RTS
The newly announced StarCraft is an entirely new breed of StarCraft game, and arguably one of the biggest standalone gaming announcements to come out of BlizzCon.
Rather than returning as another real-time strategy game, StarCraft is an open-world shooter set in the Koprulu Sector and led by former Far Cry boss Dan Hay.
It is currently scheduled for spring 2030, so we have quite a wait ahead. Blizzard showed an announcement cinematic during Day 1, but no gameplay footage yet.
World of Warcraft: Forever Creates a Third WoW Experience
World of Warcraft: Forever is not a brand-new standalone game in the same sense as Diablo V or StarCraft.
Blizzard is positioning Forever as an ongoing third branch of World of Warcraft, sitting alongside modern WoW and Classic, rather than another temporary seasonal experiment or Classic reset, or even one of the many WoW events that have kept the game going over its many years since launch.
World of Warcraft: Forever returns to the Vanilla WoW era of Azeroth but takes it in new directions instead of simply recreating the original game. It launches November 4, 2026, with beta access beginning September 17.
At launch, Blizzard is promising three new zones, more than 1,000 new quests, nine new dungeons, two new raids, and the new Skyborne race.
The journey remains capped at level 60, with Blizzard planning to expand the world horizontally rather than simply sending players through the original expansion path.
New raids begin unlocking on December 9, with more raids, dungeons, PvP updates, world content, quests, Hardcore support, and a revamped classic raid already planned for the future.
In other words, Blizzard wants Forever to become its own continuing version of Azeroth rather than something players visit for a season and then leave behind.
Eclipse Leads Into the Last Titan
Blizzard also had plenty to say about the current branch of World of Warcraft.
Blizzard describes Eclipse as the final major content update for Midnight. It is patch 12.2 rather than another game or expansion, bringing the battle against Xal’atath toward its conclusion and setting up what comes next.
The Last Titan is the separate full expansion that follows Midnight and concludes the Worldsoul Saga. Blizzard showed its first teaser at BlizzCon, with a 2027 release window displayed during the presentation.
So, in simple terms, the order is Midnight, then its major Eclipse update, and then The Last Titan.
The Day 1 WoW panels contained quite a bit more than those two reveals.
Blizzard also unveiled Talebound, a new mode that takes WoW in a more action RPG-focused PvE direction. Players repeatedly enter stories, develop their characters between attempts, and work toward eventually overcoming each tale.
Wrath of the Lich King Remix is also coming in summer 2027, while patch 12.2.5 will remove armor-type transmog restrictions.
Eclipse itself brings the new Calibration Chamber for testing rotations and builds, four new Housing Endeavors, and a refreshed PvP Journey, alongside the usual new zones, dungeon, and raid content.
Warcraft III Gets Its First New Campaign in More Than 20 Years
Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom was both announced and released during BlizzCon Day 1.
It is not a new standalone Warcraft game. Instead, it is an all-new campaign for Warcraft III: Reforged and the first new Warcraft III story campaign in more than two decades.
The campaign picks up after Arthas returns to Lordaeron and explores the years leading to the rise of Sylvanas, the Forsaken, and the founding of the Undercity.
Its release was accompanied by Warcraft III: Reforged Patch 3.0, which introduces the new Definitive Edition graphics mode and a revamped World Editor.
Blizzard also added the Forsaken Paladin, Warcraft III’s first new multiplayer hero in more than 20 years, at no additional cost. The story also provides a direct link into the events of World of Warcraft: Forever.
Not bad for something Blizzard essentially shadow-dropped in the middle of the convention.
Overwatch Gets Doctrine, Major Reworks, and a New Map
Overwatch is not getting a new game, but it did get a substantial batch of new content.
Blizzard describes Doctrine as a vampire-inspired Support hero whose abilities include draining life and deploying bat-like drones.
A limited Hero Trial is running through September 14, giving players the chance to try him before his full arrival with Season 5.
Sombra is also undergoing one of the biggest changes of any established Overwatch hero, moving from Damage to Support.
Roadhog is getting another substantial rework too, with Blizzard apparently trying to make him, in slightly less technical terms, less annoying to play against.
Season 5 also adds the new Watchpoint: Grimsvötn map and concludes The Reign of Talon, Overwatch’s first year-long narrative arc.
Another hero is planned for Season 6, while the next major Overwatch Spotlight is scheduled for February 2027.
Heroes of the Storm Is Alive, Apparently
Heroes of the Storm may have provided one of the most unexpected announcements of the entire Opening Ceremony.
Blizzard’s MOBA has largely been sitting in maintenance mode for years, but Xal’atath is now joining as its first new playable hero since Hogger arrived in 2020.
Xal’atath hits the PTR on September 14 before her full release on September 28.
More interestingly, Blizzard ended the announcement by saying there “may be even more to come” for Heroes of the Storm.
That is not confirmation of a full revival, but after six years without a new hero, it is difficult not to raise an eyebrow.
Hearthstone Gets a New Class, Expansion, and Battlegrounds Update
Hearthstone also had several updates announced during Day 1.
Monk joins the playable class roster in March 2027, ending a six-year gap since Hearthstone last added a class.
Before then, Reign of the Black Empire launches October 20. This is a new card expansion for the existing game, taking players back to ancient Azeroth and introducing the new Assemble keyword, which allows two cards to combine into a more powerful one.
The Journal is also being redesigned to serve as a central record of Hearthstone’s expansions, activities, and player progress.
Battlegrounds, Hearthstone’s separate auto-battler mode, gets Aberrations as a new minion type on September 22. New Battlegrounds heroes Drest’agath and Kith’ix arrive alongside them.
Blizzard also revealed a 2v2 Tavern Brawl, giving Hearthstone players another way to play together.
BlizzCon Is More Than the Announcements
Of course, BlizzCon has never been entirely about release dates and trailers.
For part of the WoW community, almost as highly anticipated as the announcements themselves was executive producer Holly Longdale’s outfit.
She did not disappoint, with fans promptly losing their collective shit over the elaborate fantasy-inspired look and immediately asking Blizzard to turn it into an in-game transmog set.
Attendees also got a particularly nostalgic BlizzCon goodie bag this year. Every ticket holder received commemorative items including a retro-style Blizzard metal lunch box with matching thermos, a keychain, lanyard, and more.
There was even more live music tucked away from the main stage. BRB, a rock band made up of Blizzard employees, performed at Saturday night’s Darkmoon Faire After Hours event.
Community Night also returned, with Reinhardt and N’Zoth voice actor Darin De Paul as host.
The evening celebrated the Blizzard community with cosplay, art, short-film, and talent contests, with the Talent Contest itself returning to the event this year.
From Diablo V and the return of StarCraft to the first new Warcraft III campaign in more than two decades, Day 1 gave Blizzard fans quite a lot to digest.
And BlizzCon is not finished yet.
What’s Still to Come From BlizzCon 2026 Day 2?
BlizzCon continues on Sunday, September 13, with more developer panels and community events rather than another scheduled Opening Ceremony packed with major game reveals.
There is still plenty to watch for, including Diablo IV: What’s Next, more World of Warcraft deep dives, and World of Warcraft Hardcore: What’s Next.
Away from the developer news, QuestWatch brings Overwatch into a live tabletop RPG written by Matt Mercer and the Overwatch Narrative team, while the traditional March of the Murlocs returns to Anaheim.
The Overwatch World Cup continues with YOASOBI performing BlizzCon’s first-ever esports halftime show, before LE SSERAFIM closes out the convention as its final musical act.
The published Sunday WoW schedule also includes its Deep Dive, housing and design sessions, Hardcore: What’s Next, closing remarks, and the LE SSERAFIM performance.
FAQs
What Is BlizzCon?
BlizzCon is Blizzard Entertainment’s major gaming convention, bringing together announcements, developer panels, esports, hands-on gameplay and community events based around Blizzard games.
The first BlizzCon was held in 2005, and the event has become the main showcase for franchises including World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, StarCraft and Hearthstone.
Where Is BlizzCon 2026?
BlizzCon 2026 is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Anaheim has traditionally been the home of BlizzCon and is located in Orange County.
When Is BlizzCon 2026?
BlizzCon 2026 takes place on Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13, 2026. The show floor is open from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. PDT on both days, with panels, esports, and other events running throughout the weekend.
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