BlizzCon 2026 is back after 3 years, and a StarCraft reveal may be coming

It’s been a minute since the last BlizzCon but BlizzCon 2026 finally opens its doors at the

gorgeous Anaheim Convention Center this weekend. Everyone is invited to watch for free via the official livestream, and the programming schedule covers esports comps, major panels, as well as an Opening Ceremony that kicks us all off at 10:30 a.m. PT on Saturday. For more information, you can check outBlizzard's official Know Before You Go guide.

Hall D will host the Opening Ceremony, with doors opening at 9 a.m. PT. Seating is first-come, first-served and we expect the seats to fill up fast. The advice is to get there early. If you can’t get a seat inside, you can watch from stages and viewing areas throughout the convention center. The full programming schedule will go live on BlizzCon.com after the Opening Ceremony wraps, so attendees and remote viewers should check back there once the show kicks off.

How to watch BlizzCon 2026

Blizzard confirmed the entire event (which was revealed late last year) will be streamed free of charge across its official YouTube and Twitch channels. Viewers who tune in through participating streams can earn viewership rewards, with eligibility varying by game (with games including World of Warcraft) and platform. The Blizzard viewership guide on BlizzCon.com has the full breakdown on which streams qualify for drops.

A first look at the show floor map is already available on BlizzCon.com, though Blizzard has kept several areas under wraps until the Opening Ceremony. The full map will unlock once the show starts on Saturday morning.

For those attending in person, the Grand Plaza, attendee staging areas, and security checkpoints open at 6 a.m. PT on both Saturday and Sunday. Free WiFi is available on-site via the "Anaheim Free WiFi" network. The BlizzCon Merch Store has also been redesigned into a walkthrough retail format this year, allowing visitors to see and handle items before purchasing.

What Blizzard might reveal this weekend

Now that all the logistics are out of the way, the big question on everyone’s lips is whether Blizzard has new games to show. Inven Global writer Hongman "Nowl" Yoon laid out the case for the StarCraft franchise, something Blizzard has kept mum on for years. The combination of the convention's return and a packed announcement window has the community watching closely on that front.

Two other Blizzard titles are also in the conversation for potential updates. Diablo IV's expansion "Lord of Hatred" launched in April, but Inven Global reported that a second expansion along the lines of "Vessel of Hatred" is considered unlikely given how recently the first one shipped. More plausible, Yoon argued, is another new class for Diablo II: Resurrected following the "Reign of the Demonologist" DLC that Blizzard released on Feb. 12, 2026. A follow-up class addition would be a lower-lift move that still gives the crowd something to cheer for.

What to watch for at BlizzCon

The Opening Ceremony on Saturday morning is the moment everything hinges on. If a new StarCraft project or a major Diablo announcement is coming, it’s surely the Opening Ceremony where they will first surface. Blizzard has also set up viewership rewards tied to specific games, so players invested in World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, or Hearthstone will want to have a stream running regardless of whether a big reveal lands. Fans of the broader Blizzard catalog can also look forward to "Overwatch's Questwatch adventure" led by Matt Mercer.

More information on panels and detailed programming will be available on BlizzCon.com once the Opening Ceremony concludes on Saturday. The event runs through Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center, with the free livestream covering all major moments for viewers at home.