Blizzard packed its BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony with release dates Filipino gamers can actually put on a calendar: Diablo V lands in Spring 2029, an open-world StarCraft shooter arrives in Spring 2030, and World of Warcraft: Forever — a permanently expanding take on the original game — launches November 4 this year, with its beta opening September 17, per Blizzard's official recap of the September 12 show.
World of Warcraft: Forever — the headline reveal
The biggest cheer of the night went to WoW: Forever, a new permanent home for the classic-era game rather than a replacement for modern WoW or Classic. It keeps the level cap at 60 and expands the original world with new zones — Mount Hyjal and the Riverglades — plus the new Skyborne playable race, fresh race-and-class combinations, and new dungeons and raids, Game Informer reports.
- Beta: September 17, 2026
- Launch: November 4, 2026
On the modern side, WoW's Eclipse (12.2) update was shown, with details on The Last Titan — the final chapter of the Worldsoul Saga — promised in early 2027. The Warcraft III: Reforged "Forsaken Kingdom" campaign is available now with the 3.0 update.
Diablo V in 2029, and a Netflix animated series
Diablo V got its first official window: Spring 2029. Blizzard's framing is grim — Sanctuary has fallen and Diablo has won — setting up a darker chapter for the series. Nearer term, Diablo IV starts a new season on September 15, the same day the game arrives on Nintendo Switch 2. Blizzard also confirmed an animated Diablo series is in development with Netflix, which streams in the Philippines — though no release window was given.
StarCraft returns — as an open-world shooter
StarCraft is back in active development as an open-world shooter led by Dan Hay, the former Far Cry director, with a cinematic trailer and a Spring 2030 target. That is a long wait, but it is the franchise's first major new game announcement in years.
Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm
- Overwatch celebrated its 10th year with Doctrine, a vampire-inspired Support hero who fights alongside bat-like drones. A limited Hero Trial ran September 12–14, with the full unlock coming in Season 5, plus a new map (Watchpoint: Grimsvötn) and reworks for Sombra and Roadhog.
- Hearthstone dated its Reign of the Black Empire expansion for October 20 (introducing the new "Assemble" keyword), adds the Aberrations minion type to Battlegrounds on September 22, ships an overhauled Journal feature, and brings a new Monk class in March 2027.
- Heroes of the Storm — yes, it is getting updates again — adds Xal'atath, the Harbinger from WoW's recent saga, with a test-realm release September 14 ahead of the September 28 live update.
Blizzard also slotted the next Overwatch Spotlight broadcast for February 2027, and Diablo IV players got a longer-range promise: an Amazon class pack arriving in the first half of 2027.
K-pop group LE SSERAFIM closed the show, and YOASOBI performed at the Overwatch World Cup halftime — a reminder of how far the event leans into its crossover audience.
What this means for players in the Philippines
Blizzard announced no Philippine-specific pricing, servers, or events at the ceremony. In practice, everything here reaches Filipino players the usual way: digitally through Battle.net and, for Diablo IV, on consoles including the new Switch 2 version. The near-term dates are the ones that matter locally — the WoW: Forever beta on September 17 and Diablo IV's new season on September 15 are both days away, while Diablo V and the StarCraft shooter are multi-year waits. No local pricing for WoW: Forever has been announced yet; expect standard regional Battle.net pricing closer to the November 4 launch.
