BlizzCon 2026
Blizzard's first BlizzCon since 2023 opened with a 90 minute ceremony in Anaheim, stacked with long-horizon reveals: mainline sequels dated to the end of the decade, a third version of World of Warcraft, and one shadowdrop. These are the big ones.
Lineup
StarCraft returns in Spring 2030 (lol) as an original openworld shooter, with former Far Cry creative director Dan Hay leading it. The reveal was cinematic only, with no gameplay, no platforms and no word on structure beyond the genre shift away from RTS. Four years out and a pre-rendered trailer is barely a game yet, but after sixteen years of nothing, it counts for something.
An animated series set in the world of Diablo is in development at Netflix, announced with no cast, no window and no detail beyond its existence. Blizzard framed it as the first of several adaptations taking shape across its universes. The Warcraft and Overwatch versions of this are clearly coming.
Diablo V arrives Spring 2029, opening after the defeat rather than before it: Sanctuary has fallen, its heroes are gone, and Diablo has won. No platforms, no classes, no gameplay. Announcing it three years after Diablo IV, while still actively selling Diablo IV seasons, is a notably different cadence to the eleven year gap that preceded it, and says a lot.
Closing the show, Forever is a third World of Warcraft experience sitting alongside Modern and Classic, returning to the Vanilla era to build into corners of Azeroth that never got filled in: three new zones, over 1,000 new quests, nine dungeons, two raids and a new Skyborne race. It launches November 4, with beta opening September 17.