Blizzard got one morning on stage in Anaheim and used it to plan the rest of the decade. The BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony on 12 September 2026 put dates on new Diablo, World of Warcraft, and StarCraft games. The furthest of those sits in spring 2030.
Blizzard Entertainment President Johanna Faries opened the show at the Anaheim Convention Center at 10.30am Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). In Singapore, that was 1.30am on 13 September. If you stayed up for the free livestream, you don’t have to hold out until 2030 for something to play. A Warcraft III update went live the same day, and the World of Warcraft: Forever beta starts on 17 September. Blizzard’s dates follow its American announcements, so a few may reach Singapore a day later.
Faries thanked Blizzard’s player community and said she hoped the gathering could “remind the world why community like this matters so much, why artistry matters, why creativity matters, and why making and playing games will matter always.” PC Gamer’s live coverage quoted her describing BlizzCon as an “oasis” and a “place to connect and reconnect, perhaps to heal”. Heartfelt stuff, and the roadmap that followed gave it some weight.
Blizzard called the line-up the start of its “next chapter”, which it said is deeply personal to the teams making the games. The phrase even got its own zone on the floor map, Blizzard 35: The Next Chapter, in Hall D. Seven franchises had news, from Warcraft III through to a fresh StarCraft pencilled in for spring 2030. Diablo, which celebrates 30 years in 2026, got the most daring pitch of the lot.
Hell Already Won
That pitch belongs to Diablo V, in development for spring 2029, and it’s brutally short: “Sanctuary has fallen. Diablo won.” The series’ heroes have spent three decades keeping Sanctuary standing. Starting the next game after they’ve lost is a gutsy swing, and it’s the right call.
Blizzard’s Diablo preview guide had promised “extensive plans for the glorious future of Sanctuary”. That glorious future opens with Sanctuary in ruins, a far sharper turn than one more heroic last stand. Our BlizzCon 2019 preview listed another Diablo game among the things to expect. Seven years later, Diablo is confident enough to hand the villain victory before the first quest.
The Diablo V logo burns in black and gold lettering with demonic horns, marking the game Blizzard has slotted in for spring 2029
The catch is roughly two and a half years of patience. An animated Diablo series in development with Netflix should soften that. It’s the announcement most likely to reach people who have never installed a Blizzard game. Expect the housemate who binges every grim fantasy show to start asking who Diablo is.
Until then, Diablo IV carries the load. Blizzard’s Diablo recap lists the next season, a Nintendo Switch 2 version, and a 2027 class pack, and there’s more on each below.
WoW Gets a Third Way
World of Warcraft (WoW) players get their turn much sooner. World of Warcraft: Forever runs alongside the modern game and the retro-flavoured Classic as a third way to play. It brings three new zones, more than 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, two raids, and a race called the Skyborne.
The Midnight Eclipse logo glows in blue and purple energy for patch 12.2, a 2027-window tease for players staying with modern World of Warcraft
Beta testing kicks off on 17 September 2026, and launch follows on 4 November 2026. Hall C held a playable demo for attendees. A November release lands well before the year-end holidays, and 1,000-plus quests is enough to fill every day of your December leave.
Players sticking with the modern game got teases too: patch 12.2, called Midnight Eclipse, and the story arc known as The Last Titan. Both point to a 2027 window without a firm date. Pencil them in lightly and keep your eyes on November.
Alliance heroes in armour stand among the mountains in World of Warcraft: Forever key art, the new way to play WoW from 4 November 2026
StarCraft Returns, Armed This Time
Plenty of Singaporeans grew up playing StarCraft in LAN shops, the gaming cafés of the 2000s where friends battled over a local area network (LAN). That one was real-time strategy, all frantic clicking and base building. The new game, simply called StarCraft, is a story-driven open-world shooter due in spring 2030. It’s the first mainline entry since StarCraft II arrived in 2010.
CNET, reporting from a “packed, rowdy” main hall, framed the confirmation as the end of years of rumours. The game’s own zone, StarCraft: Join the Dominion, shared Hall D with the main stage. That’s prime real estate for a game three and a half years out, and a sign of how seriously Blizzard is taking it.
This is the announcement that has split fans. Trading strategy for a shooter is a big ask, and the trailer was fully cinematic, with no gameplay to judge. Still, the last major StarCraft campaign pack came out around a decade ago, so the return itself earns a cheer. Save your verdict on the genre swap until Blizzard shows the game in motion.
What to Play While You Wait
The quickest win is out now. Forsaken Kingdom and the 3.0 update for Warcraft III: Reforged arrived on 12 September 2026. The update revamps the graphics and upgrades the World Editor, the built-in tool for making your own maps.
A huge glowing creature looms over smoking ruins in a cinematic still from Forsaken Kingdom, out now for Warcraft III: Reforged
Those editor upgrades matter more than they sound. Modders used the Warcraft III editor to create Defense of the Ancients, the custom map that popularised the multiplayer online battle arena genre. That’s the genre behind Dota 2 and League of Legends. If fan-made maps ever ate your weekends, this is a good excuse to reinstall.
Blizzard’s own entry in that genre, Heroes of the Storm, is getting a revival, and it starts with Xal’atath, a villain from World of Warcraft. The character hit Blizzard’s public test servers on 14 September 2026 and goes live on 28 September 2026. A dedicated reveal trailer plus a demo in Hall A is proper red-carpet treatment for a returning game.
A Nintendo Switch 2 displays Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection and a “Hell is Coming” message, as Blizzard’s loot hunt heads to handheld play
Diablo fans won’t sit idle for long. Diablo IV‘s Season of Hell’s Legacy starts on 15 September 2026, three days after the ceremony. With a name like that, the season makes a fitting warm-up for a sequel where Hell has already won.
Diablo IV is heading to Nintendo Switch 2 as well, and Hall B set aside space to try that version. Grinding for loot on a handheld is perfect for the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) ride home, which makes this port the dark horse of BlizzCon 2026.
Over in Diablo Immortal, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane is bringing his character to Sanctuary in a crossover that launches on 30 September 2026, Australian Eastern Standard Time. McFarlane was booked for a BlizzCon panel to redraw Diablo characters live in Spawn style. The panel added a question-and-answer session and an artwork signing. Spawn and Diablo have both spent decades dealing in hell, so the pairing makes instant sense.
Further out, Diablo IV gets an Amazon class pack in 2027. The Amazon was one of the original Diablo II classes, and fans of that game will recognise the name immediately. Bringing back a class from those days is a clever way to keep veterans busy until Diablo V.
3 Reveals Worth Your Hype
News from seven series is a lot to track, so here’s where to put your excitement. Diablo V is the long-term bet, because opening a story with the villain victorious was the freshest idea at BlizzCon 2026. Forsaken Kingdom is the one you can play today.
This new warrior tears through demons with magic in the reveal trailer
The ceremony leaned on pre-rendered trailers, and fans watching online soon pointed out how little gameplay made it to the screen. That’s the strongest case for the third choice on this list. You won’t have to take a trailer’s word for it.
The top pick is World of Warcraft: Forever. Of the three headline reveals, it’s the only one arriving this year. With the beta from 17 September, the wait to play it yourself is down to days. If one BlizzCon 2026 announcement deserves a spot in your diary, make it this one.
Horde characters stand on a rocky outcrop above a castle-filled valley in World of Warcraft: Forever art, with the beta opening 17 September 2026
Overwatch and Hearthstone had news of their own, including a Hearthstone expansion. Taken together, BlizzCon 2026 has mapped Blizzard’s releases from 12 September 2026 to spring 2030, and September alone holds six separate dates.
🗓️ Date: 12 to 13 September 2026 (Opening Ceremony on Saturday, 12 September 2026)
⏰ Time: Opening Ceremony at 10.30am PDT (1.30am on 13 September in Singapore)
📍 Location: Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California
🏰 Out Now: Forsaken Kingdom and the 3.0 update for Warcraft III: Reforged
🌀 Heroes of the Storm: Xal’atath on public test servers from 14 September, live from 28 September 2026
🔥 Diablo IV: Season of Hell’s Legacy from 15 September 2026, a Nintendo Switch 2 version, and an Amazon class pack in 2027
👹 Diablo Immortal x Spawn: From 30 September 2026 (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
⚔️ World of Warcraft: Forever: Beta from 17 September, launch on 4 November 2026
😈 Diablo V: Spring 2029, plus an animated Diablo series in development with Netflix
🚀 StarCraft: Spring 2030
🌏 Note: Dates follow Blizzard’s American announcements, so some may arrive a day later in Singapore
BlizzCon 2026 has wrapped, and its first releases are rolling out this month. Every announcement is listed in Blizzard’s Opening Ceremony recap, which is the page to bookmark for dates. The BlizzCon viewership guide points to Blizzard’s official YouTube and Twitch channels, so follow those for news of the next edition. Blizzard has booked releases through to spring 2030, and the boldest thing it said all morning was a five-word admission that its heroes lost.
Visuals courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
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