BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony: Everything Announced

BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony is over, and it did not disappoint, with huge announcements for StarCraft, Diablo, and Warcraft.

Highlights include the confirmation of StarCraft, an open-world shooter due out in... 2030! Before then, in 2029, we'll get Diablo 5. We also got the shadow-drop of a brand new campaign for Warcraft 3, and the announcement of World of Warcraft: Forever, due out in November.

Elsewhere, we have confirmation of a Diablo animated show for Netflix, a new hero for Overwatch, and a surprise new hero for Heroes of the Storm. Yep, there was a lot packed into Opening Ceremony, which will be followed by various panels that go into more detail on all the announcements.

In case you missed it, check out all the announcements in our live blog, below.

That's a wrap!

Holly Longdale brought BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony to a close by running through the big announcements and hyping up the crowd. It was certainly a news heavy Blizzcon - perhaps the biggest for future game reveals ever. Diablo 5 and the Warcraft 3 campaign certainly came as a huge shock. We all knew the StarCraft shooter was going to make an appearance due to various leaks, but it was still exciting to see the trailer. And how about World of Warcraft: Forever?

Let us know what you thought of Blizzcon 2026 Opening Ceremony in the comments, and stick with IGN for even more news from the event.

World of Warcraft: Forever announcement closes out BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony

Blizzard brought BlizzCon 2026's Opening Ceremony to an end with the announcement of World of Warcraft: Forever, which launches November 4, 2026. The beta starts this Thursday. Longdale called it "Classic Plus," on-stage.

World of Warcraft: forever "is your new permanent home," and "never ends," Longdale said. This is another way to play WoW that's "friendly, familiar, and new," and will live alongside modern and classic. The world is the "main character." Instead of one big heroic story, you carve your own path. It's also dedicated to community. There's no rush here: "it's the journey that counts, not the destination."

Forever is easy to get into and play but deep enough to play forever, Longdale added. It gets back to the heart of MMOs and what makes them so special.

Carve A New Path In A Legendary World. WoW: Forever launches on November 4, 2026. pic.twitter.com/XYKHGwonFv— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) September 12, 2026

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Carve A New Path In A Legendary World. WoW: Forever launches on November 4, 2026. pic.twitter.com/XYKHGwonFv

There new zones, new dungeons, new raids (10 and 20 players), new skills and talents, a new race (Skyborne) and class combinations, a new battleground, and over 1,000 new quests. There's even an SD/HD visuals toggle and a graphical overhaul.

In terms of the timeline and setting, this is Year 1 of Vanilla WoW, but the future is "untold." It sounds to me a bit like a soft reboot. Players will level up to 60 and stay at 60 indefinitely. "We don't want to race ahead and leave our accomplishments, our gear, and our friends behind," Longdale said. But there will be content updates.

WoW: Forever launches November 4 with:⛓️ New dungeons 👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 10 & 20-player raids 🪽 Skyborne playable race 🗺️ New & expanded zones ✅ Account-wide perks💡 Updated world visuals & lighting🧟 New race & class combos❗ 1000+ new questsJoin the Beta September 17! pic.twitter.com/hu4O0RpVtV— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) September 12, 2026

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WoW: Forever launches November 4 with:⛓️ New dungeons 👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 10 & 20-player raids 🪽 Skyborne playable race 🗺️ New & expanded zones ✅ Account-wide perks💡 Updated world visuals & lighting🧟 New race & class combos❗ 1000+ new questsJoin the Beta September 17! pic.twitter.com/hu4O0RpVtV

Warcraft 3 Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom announced

Warcraft 3 is back! Blizzard made the shock announcement of Warcraft 3's first new campaign in over 20 years, called Warcraft 3 Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom. And it's out... today!

Raise your banners: Warcraft III's first new campaign in over 20 years is here.Return to the fields of war in Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom. 💀 AVAILABLE TODAY! pic.twitter.com/Y3M9NlBeQq— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) September 12, 2026

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Raise your banners: Warcraft III's first new campaign in over 20 years is here.Return to the fields of war in Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom. 💀 AVAILABLE TODAY! pic.twitter.com/Y3M9NlBeQq

You experience the fall of Lordaeron and how it came to be the Undercity. This new prologue depicts the last days of Lordaeron, with over 30 hours of gameplay. A new Definitive Edition graphics mode is also in Reforged alongside a new neutral hero, the Forsaken Paladin. We got a gameplay trailer showing how it all looks.

Experience the fall of Lordaeron and the rise of the Forsaken ⚔️With 30+ hours of new campaign content, Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom launches TODAY. pic.twitter.com/LVvgYyRGRg— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) September 12, 2026

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Experience the fall of Lordaeron and the rise of the Forsaken ⚔️With 30+ hours of new campaign content, Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom launches TODAY. pic.twitter.com/LVvgYyRGRg

World of Warcraft: The Last Titan

Hazzikostas teased the next World of Warcraft expansion, The Last Titan, which he said Blizzard couldn't talk about in detail because it would spoil the events of Midnight. But he did say it will "lay the groundwork for what comes next." Blizzard will reveal more early next year, but we did get a glimpse of what players will be up against via a new cinematic (it's big!). The Last Titan is due out in 2027.

Holly Longdale returned to the stage to declare: "We are putting the war back in Warcraft!"

The snow-packed peaks of Northrend cower below the spreading shadow of a singular and thundering judgment.The conclusion to the Worldsoul Saga comes with World of Warcraft: The Last Titan. pic.twitter.com/iQSu8IUgs0— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) September 12, 2026

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The snow-packed peaks of Northrend cower below the spreading shadow of a singular and thundering judgment.The conclusion to the Worldsoul Saga comes with World of Warcraft: The Last Titan. pic.twitter.com/iQSu8IUgs0

World of Warcraft: Midnight update

Holly Longdale, Vice President & Executive Producer, World of Warcraft, took to the stafe in a beautiful Warcraft-themed outfit to talk about the future of Warcraft. Longdale introduced Ian Hazzikostas, who talked about the Worldsoul Saga, Blizzard's trilogy of World of Warcraft expansions. Hazzikostas said World of Warcraft is at the mid-point of the Worldsoul Saga, with the second expansion, Midnight, half a year old. The next major content update for Midnight is called Eclipse, aka Patch 12.2.

Midnight falls as the Void breaches the heart of Azeroth. There is no recourse; either face the darkness or be devoured: 🔮 Face Xal'atath ⛓️ Master a new dungeon & raid 🗡️ Claim a Legendary dagger 🌒 Journey into the very heart of our world pic.twitter.com/mcT5Jv5Syt— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) September 12, 2026

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Midnight falls as the Void breaches the heart of Azeroth. There is no recourse; either face the darkness or be devoured: 🔮 Face Xal'atath ⛓️ Master a new dungeon & raid 🗡️ Claim a Legendary dagger 🌒 Journey into the very heart of our world pic.twitter.com/mcT5Jv5Syt

Hearthstone

Warcraft card game Hearthstone follows the Diablo 5 announcement with a "pretty epic expansion!" called Black Empire, due out October 20. Blizzard ran through a number of card reveals, and confirmed it's finally putting a narrative into the game. The updated journal launches alongside the Black Empire expansion. 2v2 Hearthstone is coming to the game for the first time, too. But the big news here is the Monk class is coming to Hearthstone in 2027. Expect more on Monk next year.

🐼 🙌 Why do we fight? To just have fun!The new Monk class arrives next year, so keep an eye out for more details as we get closer to release! pic.twitter.com/HBLtm72T1S— Hearthstone (@PlayHearthstone) September 12, 2026

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🐼 🙌 Why do we fight? To just have fun!The new Monk class arrives next year, so keep an eye out for more details as we get closer to release! pic.twitter.com/HBLtm72T1S

Diablo 5 announced!

Blizzard shocked the BlizzCon crowd with the announcement of Diablo 5. We got the debut cinematic, which revolves around the return of The Lord of Terror himself, Diablo, to Sanctuary. "Sanctuary falls," is the tagline. It's out 2029. You enter a world in which Diablo has already won, with no towns or safe places waiting to protect players. "What must you become when the world has already fallen?" is the central question of Diablo 5. Expect more from a Diablo 5 panel later today.

I certainly wasn't expecting a Diablo 5 announcement at Blizzcon, but of course it makes sense that Blizzard is working on a sequel given how successful Diablo 4 has been and continues to be. Diablo 4 launched in June 2023, so Diablo 5 is due to arrive six years later.

Diablo 4 Nintendo Switch 2 and content updates announced

BlizzCon continued with a fun Diablo compilation video narrated by Deckard Cain himself.

Thirty years of putting you through Hell and you keep coming back for more. 😈Here’s to the 30 years of Diablo and the best community alive. For now. pic.twitter.com/ZK9Aab7urd— Diablo (@Diablo) September 12, 2026

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Thirty years of putting you through Hell and you keep coming back for more. 😈Here’s to the 30 years of Diablo and the best community alive. For now. pic.twitter.com/ZK9Aab7urd

Speaking of Deckard Cain, he leads Diablo 4 players through Season of Hell's Legacy, which sounds like a sort of demonic trip down memory lane in which you fight famous Diablo bosses. It launches on September 15. We also got the announcement of Diablo 4 coming to Nintendo Switch 2 alongside Season of Hell's Legacy.

Also in Diablo news, Spawn - yes, Spawn! - comes to mobile game Diablo Immortal on September 29.

In further Diablo 4 news, the Amazon class is finally coming to the game. She uses a bow and a javeline, and hits the game in the first half of 2027. Expect more from the Diablo 4 What's Next? panel at BlizzCon later this weekend.

Disciplined. Deadly. Legendary.Built on the pillars of an expert soldier, unrivaled athleticism, and mythical magic, the Amazon enters Diablo IV as a new Class Pack in the first half of 2027 🏹 pic.twitter.com/vOmKzu1ChH— Diablo (@Diablo) September 12, 2026

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Disciplined. Deadly. Legendary.Built on the pillars of an expert soldier, unrivaled athleticism, and mythical magic, the Amazon enters Diablo IV as a new Class Pack in the first half of 2027 🏹 pic.twitter.com/vOmKzu1ChH

Overwatch new hero announced

Aaron Keller from the Overwatch team followed that big StarCraft reveal to talk Overwatch. Doctrine is a vampire support hero who uses bat drones to heal teammates and speed up their attacks. He's coming next month in Season 5, but his limited time Hero Trial kicks off right now and runs until September 14. Expect more information during a BlizzCon panel later this weekend.

Blizzard added that Overwatch Spotlight 2027 will kick off the next chapter in Overwatch's story.

StarCraft open-world shooter announced

Dan Hay, who used to work on Far Cry at Ubisoft, took to the BlizzCon stage to announce the heavily-rumored StarCraft first-person shooter. It's open-world, he confirmed, before declaring: "We are here to reignite this universe... and let's be honest... it's about damn time."

The game's debut cinematic showed Terran Dominion soldiers in training before a battle with the Zerg, which does not go well for our poor recruits. The game is simply titled StarCraft, and it's due out... in 2030! Only a four-year wait then, assuming it's not delayed. We didn't get a look at gameplay, and there are no details at all really other than it's open-world. Given Hay's background with Far Cry, I'm guessing StarCraft will work along the same lines.

So, it's not StarCraft 3, but it is more StarCraft! We've got so many questions. Hopefully BlizzCon answers them.

Diablo Netflix animated series

Blizzard announced a new animated series for Diablo on Netflix. Faries also teased Overwatch, Warcraft, and "who knows, perhaps even some of our other universes," are set for adaptations. "I promise, as soon as I can, we will share more details with you.

We are thrilled to share that we are in development on a new animated series for Diablo with Netflix. pic.twitter.com/F7dKh73f12— Diablo (@Diablo) September 12, 2026

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We are thrilled to share that we are in development on a new animated series for Diablo with Netflix. pic.twitter.com/F7dKh73f12

Heroes of the Storm gets a new character

Blizzard's MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, is coming back in a big way with a new character, Xal'atah, later this month, and another new character is coming at some point afterwards. "Thank you for believing in this game," Faries said. "For carrying that torch. Who knows? We might even have another new hero on the way in the near future. So stay tuned, and we will see you in the Nexus."

BlizzCon 2026 kicks off with flashy cinematic running through all the big games

BlizzCon 2026 has started with a rousing cinematic that runs through all the big hitters. Johanna Faries is on-stage to call it a "special moment for all of us." This is Faries' first BlizzCon as boss of Blizzard, and it sounds like she's close to tears as she praises and thanks her staff. "There's so much going on at Blizzard right now that we couldn't even fit it into this weekend if we tried," she said, perhaps teasing further unnanounced projects.

Five minutes to go!

BlizzCon 2026 starts in five minutes. We're expecting Johanna Faries, President of Blizzard Entertainment, on-stage soon to start the Opening Ceremony. Almost there!

We're taking our seats... and some photos!

With Opening Ceremony now just 30 minutes from kick-off, excitement is building inside Hall D at the Anaheim Convention Center. We're taking our seats now so we can report live from Blizzard's big showcase event. Check out these photos!