BlizzCon 2026 brought the crowd back together in Anaheim, California, and Blizzard wasted no time filling the room with announcements. The opening ceremony covered a new StarCraft shooter, Diablo 5, a Netflix series, a Switch port, and a new Hearthstone class. Here is what we saw.
New Characters and Shows
Blizzard announced Xal’atath, the Harbinger of the Void, is coming to Heroes of the Storm. She joins the Nexus, and the multiplayer continues to get new seasonal patches despite scaled-back major developments in 2022.
An animated Diablo series is in development with Netflix. Blizzard shared the announcement on September 12, 2026, though the ceremony did not show footage. The studio also hinted that adaptations for Overwatch and World of Warcraft are also in the works.
The Overwatch team revealed Doctrine, a stealth support character with healing drones, for season 5. His hero trial starts today. Blizzard showed the new hero with a cinematic short.
Diablo, Warcraft 3, and Hearthstone
Diablo 4 is officially coming to Switch 2 on September 15, alongside a new season. The Amazon class arrives in the first half of 2027, complete with a new javelin weapon. Blizzard posted about the class on September 12, 2026.
Diablo 5 is in development, with a surprise cinematic teaser revealing the sequel is coming in 2029. The Diablo team promised evolutions to the world, classes, and more, with additional details coming in a panel later this weekend.
Hearthstone’s next expansion is Reign of the Black Empire, arriving October 20. The Monk class will finally come to the card game in 2027.
Warcraft 3 and Beyond
A new campaign for Warcraft 3 is out today. Warcraft 3 Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom follows The Fall of Lordaeron and brings 30 hours of content, a new graphics mode, and a new unit. Blizzard also promised a reveal trailer for Eclipse, the reveal trailer for the MMO’s 12th expansion, which caps off the Worldsoul Saga.
World of Warcraft Forever is “Classic Plus” and coming this year. It explores alternate paths for iconic moments, starting around the events of year one. It exists alongside regular and Classic WoW, so there are now three versions of the game.
The Order of Arrival
The announcements span a wide range of franchises. A new StarCraft shooter, Diablo 5, a Netflix series, a Switch port, and a new Hearthstone class all landed in one ceremony.
Here is how the release dates break down:
- Doctrine lands today.
- Diablo 4 hits Switch 2 on September 15.
- The Amazon class pack arrives in the first half of 2027.
- Diablo 5 arrives in 2029.
| Announcement | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Doctrine (Overwatch) | Today |
| Diablo 4 Switch 2 | September 15 |
| Amazon class pack | First half of 2027 |
| Diablo 5 | 2029 |
BlizzCon 2026 proved Blizzard still has a full plate. The next few years will tell us how much of it holds up.
See the video the story is built around at Kotaku.
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