Blizzard is leaning into its 35th anniversary with a simple promise: three weeks of developer-led showcase’s in 2026, each one aimed at a different corner of its portfolio. World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Diablo are all getting their own dedicated showcase, and Blizzard says these broadcasts will be packed with “big announcements, sneak peeks, and teases,” while also shining a light on the people actually building the games.
It’s a clean format, honestly. No bloated multi-hour variety show, no awkward pacing. Just four focused streams, four franchises, and a schedule that’s easy to follow.
The showcase schedule
Here’s when each spotlight is set to air (times as announced by Blizzard):
- World of Warcraft – January 29 at 9am PT / 12pm ET
- Overwatch – February 4 at 10am PT / 1pm ET
- Hearthstone – February 9 at 9:30am PT / 12:30pm ET
- Diablo – February 11 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET
From a rocky first step to genre-defining hits
It’s also a good moment to remember how weird Blizzard’s origin story looks in hindsight. The studio was founded in February 1991, but its first real swing didn’t exactly become legend: The Death and Return of Superman (1994), a DC-licensed beat-’em-up that landed with fairly lukewarm reception.
Just three months later came Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, a foundational real-time strategy release that helped define the studio’s reputation early, and set the stage for decades of genre staples. Fast forward more than thirty years and Blizzard’s name is basically synonymous with long-running live-service worlds that can swallow entire weekends.
World of Warcraft starts things off with “State of Azeroth”
The first stream out of the gate is WoW’s “State of Azeroth” on January 29, with Executive Producer Holly Longdale and Senior Game Director Ion Hazzikostas front and center. Blizzard is promising official roadmaps for both modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic, which is the kind of straightforward, practical info players always ask for and rarely get cleanly.
There’s also a small in-game incentive: tune in and you’ll learn how to unlock an exclusive housing decoration item. And with World of Warcraft: Midnight set to arrive on March 2, it’s hard to imagine that expansion not dominating the conversation, whether it’s feature breakdowns, endgame direction, or the bigger narrative setup.
Overwatch’s spotlight feels tied to that Talon “takeover”
Overwatch gets its turn on February 4, and Blizzard is keeping the official details close to the chest. Still, the timing is suspicious in the fun way.
On January 23, the Overwatch account on X was “taken over” by Talon, the game’s in-universe antagonist organization. That kind of marketing beat usually exists for one reason: to point toward an announcement. If this spotlight is meant to explain what the Talon stunt actually leads to, expect the stream to be more than a routine patch preview and more like a scene-setter for what Overwatch wants to be in its next chapter.
Hearthstone keeps rolling into a massive 2026 esports year
Hearthstone gets its own moment on February 9, and it’s proof the card game still has plenty of life in it. More than ten years in, Blizzard hasn’t slowed the update cadence, and the messaging for 2026 is clear: they want a bigger, more serious competitive year, not just another routine season on autopilot.
The headline is the scale: three Masters Tour Championships planned for 2026, plus the World Championship at BlizzCon. That’s not a “maintenance mode” cadence, that’s Blizzard doubling down on a structured circuit and giving competitive players something more consistent to chase.
Diablo closes the run with a “30th Anniversary Spotlight”
The final stream on February 11 is Diablo’s, and the title matters: “30th Anniversary Spotlight.” That wording suggests Blizzard may zoom out beyond just Diablo 4.
Yes, you’d expect updates on Diablo 4’s Season 12 and the Lord of Hatred expansion, because those are the obvious beats. But calling it a 30th anniversary showcase implies nostalgia, franchise-wide reflection, and maybe even broader teases that connect Diablo’s past and future rather than a single seasonal info dump.
StarCraft does not have hes showcase
The community reaction to the four-stream plan has been mostly positive, but there’s one familiar complaint: StarCraft, once again, doesn’t have a seat at the table. The franchise has been quiet for close to a decade, and every Blizzard event that skips it reopens that wound.
That said, the StarCraft rumor cycle hasn’t stopped. Windows Central’s Jez Corden has reported that the long-discussed StarCraft shooter could show up at BlizzCon 2026, which at least gives fans a breadcrumb to hold onto while these anniversary spotlights focus elsewhere.
What this anniversary rollout really signals
Blizzard isn’t just celebrating its past here. A schedule like this is a statement that its biggest live-service games are still expected to carry the brand forward, and that each one needs room to breathe instead of fighting for attention in a crowded mega-stream.
If Blizzard delivers on the “big announcements” language, these spotlights could be an efficient way to reset expectations for 2026 across four communities at once. And if they don’t, well… at least nobody can say they didn’t have enough stage time.
I write for Need4Games, mostly keeping track of what’s coming next. I cover showcases and release updates, put together quick lists when you just want the highlights, and I’ll post Steam deal roundups when the sales get wild. I play a lot of games, so I tend to look at games through that lens. No overthinking, just: what it is, why it’s interesting, and if it’s actually worth your time. I also stream now and then on Twitch.
