BlizzCon 2026: Diablo V is real, and Diablo IV just landed on Switch 2
The headline reveal was a new mainline Diablo game, but the console news might matter more if you own a Switch 2. Plus a StarCraft reboot nobody saw coming, and a real reason to reinstall Hearthstone.
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
BlizzCon returned to Anaheim on 12 and 13 September, and true to form, Blizzard used the opening ceremony to throw news at basically every franchise it owns at once: Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone, StarCraft, Heroes of the Storm and World of Warcraft all got something. Most of it only matters if you're already playing that specific game. These four don't need that excuse.
Diablo V
The actual headline: a fifth mainline Diablo game is in development, aimed at Spring 2029 on PC, PS5 and Xbox (no Switch mention yet). The premise is bleaker than usual for the series, which is saying something. The teaser's own line is "Sanctuary has fallen. Diablo won.", and the pitch is a world where the prime evil already triumphed and every hero who tried to stop him lost. No gameplay shown yet, just the world state and the question the marketing keeps repeating: what do you become when the world's already over.
Sanctuary has fallen. Diablo won.
Diablo IV comes to Switch 2
The nearer-term news: Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection, the base game plus both expansions, launches on Switch 2 on 15 September, which by the time you're reading this is basically now. If you've been waiting for an excuse to try Sanctuary on the console rather than PC or PlayStation, this is it, and it didn't need a 2029 release date to get there.
StarCraft, but not the StarCraft you're expecting
Blizzard also announced a new game simply called STARCRAFT, an open-world shooter rather than a return to the real-time strategy roots. It's a strange direction for the franchise to take, and consider this an early warning rather than news to act on: the release window is Spring 2030. That's not a typo. Whatever this actually turns out to be, you've got a long wait to find out.
A real reason to reinstall Hearthstone
Two things stood out to me, a lapsed player myself: the Reign of the Black Empire expansion lands 20 October with a new "Assemble" keyword, and a Monk class arrives in March 2027, the first entirely new class the game has added in six years. It's been a while since I opened the app, and this feels like the moment to check back in rather than a random patch note.
Everything else
World of Warcraft: Forever, the big reveal for WoW players specifically, already has its own piece here. Overwatch turned 10 and got a new hero, Roadhog and Sombra both got reworked, and Heroes of the Storm added Xal'atath as a playable hero on 28 September. None of it needed its own headline, but any of it might be exactly what pulls you back in if that's the franchise you actually play.