// GAMESPOT — GAMING
What To Expect From BlizzCon 2026: StarCraft’s Return, A Whole Lot Of Warcraft
BlizzCon 2026 begins September 12, and while there is big news every time developer Blizzard decides to host its fan convention, after a two-year hiatus, this year's show in particular seems poised to be a major occasion for fans of Blizzard franchises like Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch.
Blizzard president Johanna Faries hasn't been shy about hyping up this year's show in interviews, calling 2026 Blizzard's "biggest year yet." She said its various development teams are "cooking on big swings" across its key franchises and that this year's BlizzCon will reflect the studio's goal of being the "best gaming and entertainment company in the world." BlizzCon's announcements will deliver the "heart and soul" of what fans want out of a BlizzCon, she said, while still "bringing some very new things to the table."
What, then, should fans expect from what is being billed as the biggest year in Blizzard history? Let's dive into what to expect from BlizzCon 2026, as well as a few predictions.
For years, BlizzCon essentially served as a new World of Warcraft expansion vessel. Blizzard would get on stage, announce a new expansion with a jaw-dropping cinematic, and then dive into all the details of the new expansion.
That will still likely happen this year, though we do already know the name and setting of WoW's next expansion, The Last Titan, since Blizzard announced an entire trilogy of expansions back at BlizzCon 2023. The reveal of the expansion's cinematic and more details, including its revamp of Northrend, major new features, and possibly a release date, is a given. Expect to learn more about Midnight's 12.2 patch as well.
However, there's likely to be more Warcraft this year than perhaps any other time in Blizzard's history. In addition to The Last Titan, it's not exactly a secret that Blizzard is cooking up a new version of WoW Classic, unofficially called Classic+ by the community. What form this version of Classic will take is still unknown, but many fans expect it to serve almost as an alternate timeline for WoW where the game didn't release new expansions every few years and instead turned its focus to the core regions of Azeroth fans were already familiar with. That could mean Blizzard finishing or expanding zones from original WoW, class redesigns, additional endgame content, or even new playable races and classes.
Dataminers discovered a reference to a new build for Classic called "Camelot" within Blizzard's files earlier this year. That codename at first glance didn't mean much but was quickly connected to a once-dismissed Warcraft release slate leak from last year that mentioned Camelot by name.
That connection suddenly made the leak much more credible overall, and it shows Camelot could possibly release this year shortly after BlizzCon. This, of course, wouldn't be out of the ordinary for WoW Classic. The game's previous experiment that many saw as a testing ground for Classic+, Season of Discovery, was announced at BlizzCon 2023 in early November and was then released only a few weeks later. It certainly seems like history could repeat for Classic+, Camelot, or whatever Blizzard officially calls it.
But Classic+ is far from the only new Warcraft project included on the alleged leaked release slate. According to the alleged leak, Blizzard may also be making a new Warcraft RTS titled Warcraft Chronicles for 2027, as well as an Arthas RPG spin-off for 2028.
Those would be huge news on their own, but beyond games, the leak additionally lists a tie-in television show for each game. The idea of Blizzard working on television shows isn't as far-fetched as it sounds. Faries said in an interview earlier this year Blizzard has had "exciting conversations" about Hollywood adaptations of its IP, while Blizzard VP and executive producer for WoW Holly Longdale has been on record that the Warcraft IP is "underutilized" and that Blizzard wants to expand it beyond just WoW.
It's possible the leaked slate is years old