BlizzCon 2026 Confirms a StarCraft Shooter, Diablo 5, and a Netflix Series

Blizzard used the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony to announce two major returns: StarCraft, a new open-world shooter scheduled for 2030, and Diablo 5, planned for 2029. The company also announced a Diablo television series for Netflix, though the announcement did not specify its cast, format, release date, or story.

StarCraft has been largely absent since the StarCraft 2 campaign pack Nova Covert Ops, while Diablo 5 arrives as Blizzard continues supporting Diablo 4 and its recent Lord of Hatred expansion.

StarCraft returns as an open-world shooter

Blizzard’s new game is titled simply StarCraft. It is not a new real-time strategy entry, but an open-world shooter set in the familiar science-fiction universe.

The game is planned for release in 2030, two decades after StarCraft 2. Its announcement represents the franchise’s first major new game news in roughly a decade, following the Nova Covert Ops campaign pack.

The reveal trailer focused on the United Earth Directorate, which is preparing to fight the Zerg. The Protoss received only a brief mention. Rather than presenting a straightforward military victory, the trailer emphasized the brutality and expendability of war. A human soldier is drawn into a propaganda-driven campaign before being revealed as disposable within the larger conflict.

The trailer places the player closer to an individual soldier than to a commander directing entire armies, giving Blizzard a different way to present the series’ militarism, political manipulation, and species-wide conflict.

What the announcement confirms

Detail	Confirmed information
Title	StarCraft
Genre	Open-world shooter
Setting	The StarCraft universe
Featured faction	United Earth Directorate
Major enemy shown	Zerg
Release year	2030
Protoss presence	Mentioned, but not prominently shown in the trailer

The announcement does not establish the game’s platforms, multiplayer plans, playable factions, progression systems, or whether it will include a traditional single-player campaign. Blizzard also has not indicated whether the project will connect directly to unresolved StarCraft 2 storylines.

A second attempt at StarCraft in 3D

The project recalls StarCraft: Ghost, Blizzard’s earlier attempt to move the franchise into third-person action. That game entered development in 2002 and remained in development for years before Blizzard president Mike Morhaime confirmed its cancellation in 2014.

The new project is not described as a revival of StarCraft: Ghost. It is a separate attempt to reinterpret the setting as a shooter, this time through an open-world structure.

For long-time fans, the reveal creates a clear trade-off. A shooter could make the universe feel immediate and physical in a way a top-down strategy game cannot. At the same time, fans waiting for a proper successor to StarCraft 2 may regard the new direction as a departure.

Diablo 5 is planned for 2029

Blizzard also revealed Diablo 5, which is scheduled for 2029. The teaser presented a future in which Sanctuary has fallen and players must fight to reclaim it.

The game will explore what a person must become to save a world that has already been lost. The announcement did not provide details about its characters, classes, mechanics, or relationship to Diablo 4’s ending.

The announcement comes earlier than some fans might have expected. The previous two mainline Diablo games each spent about a decade in development. Blizzard has nevertheless confirmed the next entry while Diablo 4 remains an active game.

The announcement also follows the conclusion of the Mephisto storyline and the release of Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred expansion earlier in 2026. More content is planned for Diablo 4 while work on Diablo 5 continues.

Diablo 4 will continue with an Amazon class

Diablo 4 is not being abandoned after the new announcement. Blizzard plans to add the Amazon through a class pack next year, in 2027.

The Amazon is a returning class from Diablo 2. The class pack will also allow players to explore the Skovos Isles, the Amazons’ homeland, as an Amazon character.

Blizzard has described the release as a class pack rather than a full expansion. The announcement did not specify its price, exact release date, abilities, or whether the Skovos Isles will be accessible to every existing class.

A Diablo series is coming to Netflix

Alongside Diablo 5, Blizzard announced plans for a Diablo series on Netflix. The announcement did not provide a release schedule or creative details.

Blizzard has not specified:

• The series’ cast or showrunner
• Whether it will be animated or live action
• Which period of Diablo lore it will cover
• Whether it will adapt Diablo 4, Diablo 5, or an earlier story
• How closely it will connect to the games

For now, the Netflix project is an announced adaptation without a defined format or release plan.

Sources

• CNET, “BlizzCon 2026: The Starcraft Shooter Is Real, Diablo Series Coming to Netflix,” published 2026-09-12: https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/blizzcon-2026-opening-ceremony-starcraft/
• The Verge, “StarCraft returns in 2030 as an open-world shooter,” published 2026-09-12: https://www.theverge.com/games/994371/starcraft-returns-in-2030-as-an-open-world-shooter