BlizzCon 2026: StarCraft Returns as a Shooter, Diablo V Set for 2029

The StarCraft rumors were true, just not in the way RTS players hoped. At the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony in Anaheim on September 12, Blizzard confirmed a new game simply titled StarCraft. It is an open-world shooter, and it is not due until 2030.

It was the headline of a packed show, Blizzard's first BlizzCon since 2023. Diablo V, a new permanent version of World of Warcraft, the final Worldsoul Saga expansion and the first new Warcraft III campaign in more than two decades were all announced on the same stage.

StarCraft, but not the StarCraft you wanted

The project is led by Dan Hay, the former Far Cry executive producer who now runs a team at Blizzard. "We are here to make StarCraft," Hay told the crowd. "And let's be honest, it's about damn time."

The cinematic trailer followed a Terran Marine recruit named Holt through Dominion training before he is cut down by Zerglings on his first drop. Hay described a gritty open-world game built around a single Marine's "zero to hero" arc, and told Kotaku he wants something that feels like "a Deadwood in space." No gameplay was shown, and Blizzard has not confirmed platforms or price. More details are promised over the coming years.

That confirms months of reports, including Jez Corden's claim earlier this year that he had seen pre-alpha footage of a StarCraft shooter. What the show did not address was the separate report that Blizzard is working with an external Western studio on a strategy game, or Korean reports that Nexon wants the rights to make a StarCraft RTS. Neither has been confirmed.

For strategy players it is a mixed result. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, released in 2015, remains the last mainline entry, and the new game is four years away in a different genre. It also is not Blizzard's first attempt at a StarCraft shooter: StarCraft: Ghost was announced in 2002 and never shipped.

The actual RTS news: Warcraft III gets a new campaign

The strategy announcement came from an older game. Warcraft III: Reforged received The Forsaken Kingdom, its first new story campaign in more than 23 years, alongside a 3.0 update that overhauls the graphics and revamps the World Editor. The campaign covers the fall of Lordaeron and the rise of the Undercity, adds a Forsaken Paladin hero, and is available now as paid DLC on Battle.net. For a genre that rarely gets attention from major publishers, a fresh campaign and better modding tools for one of its most influential games is worth noting.

Diablo V is coming in spring 2029

Blizzard president Johanna Faries introduced Diablo V, set about a century after Diablo IV in a Sanctuary where Diablo has already won. The teaser framed it around one question: "What must you become when the world has already fallen?" It targets spring 2029. There was no gameplay and no class reveal.

Diablo IV is not slowing down in the meantime. The Season of Hell's Legacy starts September 15 with the return of the three Prime Evils and Deckard Cain, the Amazon class pack arrives in the first half of 2027, and the Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection launches on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 15. Blizzard and Netflix also confirmed a Diablo animated series is in development.

World of Warcraft: Forever, Eclipse and The Last Titan

The biggest Warcraft surprise was World of Warcraft: Forever, a new permanent version of the game that sits alongside modern WoW and Classic. It reimagines the original Azeroth at a level 60 cap, with stories set after the Forsaken Kingdom campaign and before Molten Core. It adds new zones, more than 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, two raids and a new race, the Skyborne. Forever is included with a standard WoW subscription, opens beta on September 17 and launches November 4.

For modern WoW, game director Ion Hazzikostas revealed Eclipse, the next major Midnight update, which takes players into the worldcore to confront Xal'atath. A teaser followed for The Last Titan, the expansion that closes the Worldsoul Saga with a return to Northrend. Blizzard says more will be revealed early next year.

Overwatch, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm

Overwatch marked its 10th anniversary by revealing Doctrine, a vampire-inspired Talon support hero who fights with bat-like drones, arriving in Season 5. Sombra and Roadhog are getting major reworks, and a new map, Watchpoint: Grimsvötn, is on the way. Season 5 also concludes The Reign of Talon, the game's first year-long story arc.

Hearthstone confirmed the Monk as its first new class in six years, arriving in March 2027. Before that, the Reign of the Black Empire expansion launches October 20, set in Azeroth's earliest age and introducing an Assemble keyword that merges two cards.

Heroes of the Storm, which many assumed was finished, gets a new hero: Xal'atath joins the game on September 28, with a PTR opening September 14.

Esports

BlizzCon also hosted five esports events across the weekend: the Overwatch World Cup finals, the WoW Arena World Championship, the Mythic Dungeon International, the Hearthstone Masters Tour and the inaugural Blizzard Classic Cup. Japanese duo YOASOBI performed the World Cup halftime show, and LE SSERAFIM closed the event.