BODY: Blizzard's BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony was packed with news. It announced a new mainline Diablo, brought StarCraft back in a new genre, and added a third version of World of Warcraft. The keynote aired on September 13, Japan time, and Blizzard confirmed releases for years to come.
Diablo V is set for spring 2030's predecessor slot: spring 2029, and it's confirmed for Nintendo Switch 2 among other platforms. The game takes place in a Sanctuary that has already fallen, where Diablo won. Its tagline asks what you must become after the world has already died. Diablo IV isn't done yet. A new season starts September 16 with the Three Prime Evils and Deckard Cain. An Amazon class pack with bows and javelins comes in the first half of 2027, and a Switch 2 collection launches September 15 with cross-play and cross-progression. A Diablo anime series is also in the works at Netflix.
The biggest surprise was STARCRAFT, a story-driven open-world shooter due in spring 2030. World of Warcraft: Forever will sit alongside Modern and Classic WoW. It adds three new zones, more than 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, two raids and a new Skyborn race. Beta starts September 18, and it launches November 5. Blizzard also teased The Last Titan, an expansion billed as the capstone to over 20 years of Warcraft story, with details coming in early 2027.
Other games got news too. Overwatch gets a new support hero, Doctrine, and a new map, Watchpoint: Grimsvötn. Hearthstone is adding a card-merging "Combine" keyword and a Monk class in March 2027. Heroes of the Storm gets Zal'athas, its first new hero since December 2020, on September 29. Warcraft III: Reforged gets a new campaign and a 3.0 update.
The insider take
In Tokyo, people aren't talking most about StarCraft. They're talking about YOASOBI, who will play the first-ever halftime show at the Overwatch esports finals, and a concert and new collaboration with LE SSERAFIM. Blizzard has long struggled in Japan, where PC gaming was once a niche. It is now betting on J-pop star power and day-one Switch 2 support to reach local players. Diablo IV has already done well on Japanese consoles, so launching Diablo V on Switch 2 could matter more here than anything else in the lineup.
Originally reported by 4Gamer.net − 最新記事 (Japanese).