The furthest-off release BlizzCon 2026 announced is spring 2030, and it is a StarCraft shooter

The next StarCraft is not a strategy game. At the BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony, Blizzard introduced it as an original open-world shooter and gave it a spring 2030 release window [1].

BlizzCon is where Blizzard, the company behind Diablo, Overwatch, Warcraft and Hearthstone, puts news from all of its games on one stage. The round-up it posted after the ceremony, at 19:21 UTC on September 12, attaches dates to a long run of announcements. The dates below follow that US post. Blizzard's Korean and Traditional Chinese posts give several of them one day later [2][3]. Everything here is as of September 14, 2026.

Diablo V in spring 2029, StarCraft a year after

The post says little about the new StarCraft beyond three points: it is an open-world shooter, it returns to the Koprulu Sector where the series is set, and it is due in spring 2030 [1].

Diablo V comes first, in spring 2029. Its world is one where Sanctuary has already fallen and Diablo has won. The series is also moving beyond games: Blizzard is developing an animated Diablo series with Netflix and says more details will follow [1].

Until then, Diablo IV carries on. The Season of Hell's Legacy, marking Diablo's 30th anniversary, starts on September 15 and brings back the Prime Evils, the Lord of Terror among them, along with Deckard Cain and anniversary rewards. The Nintendo Switch 2 version arrives the same day. The game's first class pack follows in the first half of 2027 and adds the javelin-wielding Amazon [1].

Two games you could start on announcement day

Warcraft III: Reforged has its first new story in more than 23 years. The Forsaken Kingdom campaign goes back to the fall of Lordaeron and its transformation into the Undercity. It comes with the 3.0 update, which brings a major graphics update and a revamped World Editor. Blizzard said all of it was playable the day it was announced. The post does not say whether the campaign is a separate purchase [1].

Overwatch turns ten this year. Doctrine, the new Hero for Season 5, is a life-draining, vampire-inspired Support who fights with his own bat-like drones. He can be played at BlizzCon and, for a limited time, at home, but the post gives no end date for that window. Sombra and Roadhog are getting major reworks, and a new map, Watchpoint: Grimsvötn, is being added. A LE SSERAFIM collaboration is already available in the game. The team will share its plans for the following year at the Overwatch Spotlight in February 2027 [1].

A third World of Warcraft on November 4

World of Warcraft: Forever is Blizzard's third World of Warcraft experience, alongside the modern game and Classic. It is set in Azeroth during the Vanilla era and adds three new zones, more than 1,000 new quests, nine new dungeons, two new raids and a new race, the Skyborne. It launches on November 4, 2026, and its beta starts earlier, on September 17 [1].

The modern game's story continues as well. The next major update for the Midnight expansion is Eclipse (12.2), and more on The Last Titan, the final chapter of The Worldsoul Saga, is due early next year [1].

New faces in Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone

Xal'atath joins Heroes of the Storm as its newest Hero. She reaches the PTR on September 14 and arrives in the live game on September 28 [1].

Hearthstone's Reign of the Black Empire expansion lands on October 20 with a new keyword, Assemble, which merges two cards into one more powerful card. In March 2027 the Monk arrives as the game's first new playable class in six years [1].

The nearest date on the list is September 14, when Xal'atath reaches the PTR. The next day brings the new Diablo IV season and the Switch 2 version.

Sources

[1] Blizzard Entertainment. Everything Announced at BlizzCon® 2026 Opening Ceremony. Blizzard News, September 12, 2026.

[2] Blizzard Entertainment. BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony round-up, Korean edition. Blizzard News, September 12, 2026.

[3] Blizzard Entertainment. BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony round-up, Traditional Chinese edition. Blizzard News, September 12, 2026.