BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony Live Blog: The Future of Warcraft and Diablo Set to Be Revealed Amid StarCraft Rumors

BlizzCon 2026 is upon is, and IGN is reporting live on all the announcements direct from the opening ceremony.

The company behind Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch is set to deliver an Opening Ceremony that has more buzz about it than perhaps any BlizzCon in the past. The action kicks off at 10.30am pt / 1.30pm ET / 6.30pm UK time, and we’ll be reporting on all the news from the main stage, where we have reporters on the ground.

So, what can we expect? Blizzard has confirmed that the Opening Ceremony will see Johanna Faries, President of Blizzard Entertainment, joined by leaders of all Blizzard franchises for "major game announcements." The big hope is that Blizzard announces something StarCraft related, after weird glitches were spotted on the official StarCraft website . This clear tease has sent fans of the famous sci-fi real-time strategy series into overdrive, especially with reports indicating Blizzard is working on a StarCraft first-person shooter of some description.

The next major upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft is The Last Titan, which follows the recently released Midnight expansion as the final chapter of the Worldsoul Saga. Will Blizzard tease The Last Titan, or focus more on upcoming content for Midnight?

Expect a star turn from Diablo during the Opening Ceremony. Blizzard has said Diablo "takes center stage to reveal extensive plans for the glorious future of Sanctuary." Could we get a tease for a new Diablo 4 expansion or class?

Overwatch fans, meanwhile, are hoping for news of a new hero, given Blizzard's not yet complete plan to release 10 new heroes this year.

The show itself weighs in at a chunky 75 minutes, so there should be plenty to get fans excited. I’m a huge fan of Blizzard games, especially Warcraft and Diablo, so my hopes are high that we’ll get some big news on both those series in particular. Developer update panels follow the opening ceremony, so deeper dives are coming for hardcore fans to sink their teeth into.

Be sure to check back here for the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony live blog, below. While you wait, head to the comments and let us know what you’re hoping to see!

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

🐼 🙌 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

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.

Prepare for the next era. Diablo V has been announced. Visit to sign up for future updates. pic.twitter.com/CfO2cyEz0T — Diablo (@Diablo) September 12, 2026

Prepare for the next era. Diablo V has been announced. Visit to sign up for future updates. pic.twitter.com/CfO2cyEz0T

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

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

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

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.

If Doomfist plans to make a new gauntlet, he’s going to need help from a very old friend 🧛 Join him and his allies as they work to break out Doctrine from the depths of Watchpoint: Grimsvotn in our newest Hero Trailer, ‘Breakout.’ pic.twitter.com/MMvH3Gfhe2 — Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) September 12, 2026

If Doomfist plans to make a new gauntlet, he’s going to need help from a very old friend 🧛 Join him and his allies as they work to break out Doctrine from the depths of Watchpoint: Grimsvotn in our newest Hero Trailer, ‘Breakout.’ pic.twitter.com/MMvH3Gfhe2

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.

DEFEND MANKIND. JOIN THE DOMINION. STARCRAFT. 2030. pic.twitter.com/wQwzqYIBmd — STARCRAFT (@StarCraft) September 12, 2026

DEFEND MANKIND. JOIN THE DOMINION. STARCRAFT. 2030. pic.twitter.com/wQwzqYIBmd

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

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.

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!

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.