Not to fully transform into the Pepe Silvia meme pointing at a wall of "evidence" but I'm convinced Blizzard is gearing up to announce something StarCraft-related at BlizzCon this year.
The first reliable clue came from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier's 2024 book on Blizzard's history where he said the studio was "incubating" a StarCraft shooter (not that one) under the helm of former Far Cry producer Dan Hay.
A couple of years passed with no news on that StarCraft project. But in April of this year, Blizzard was looking to hire a lead designer of innovation for an "AAA open-world shooter" using Unreal Engine—a game engine that it's never used before. Blizzard game designer Jeff Hamilton said on Bluesky that the person who got the job would have a "fairly unique design role" as part of the team.
While that was the last direct evidence for a new StarCraft game, Blizzard recently surprised-dropped a massive patch for StarCraft 2, which feels like the kind of thing you'd do to remind people you still care about the series. The update wasn't just a bunch of bug fixes and minor tweaks either. Blizzard said the focus was to spice it up with meta-changing tweaks to early- and mid-game build variety. The people still playing StarCraft 2 seemed to love it.
That brings us to today where Blizzard has just announced some free rewards to celebrate BlizzCon this year. Its popular games, like World of Warcraft and Diablo 4, will get cosmetic packs you can buy, but the Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft 2 items won't cost a dime. Specifically, StarCraft 2 will get a 15-day co-op XP boost for Commander progression. It's small, but could be another wink to fans that Blizzard hasn't forgotten about its sci-fi universe.
A new StarCraft shooter may not be what the RTS fans want, but anything new in the series will still get people's attention. Blizzard has already set a precedent for going back to its older games and releasing new stuff for them: Look at how successful that Diablo 2: Resurrected warlock expansion was.
If I'm connecting the wrong dots here, we'll find out when BlizzCon kicks off on September 12. Blizzard said the opening ceremony (where all the big announcements happen), and the major panels where developers go into more detail about the new stuff, will be available to watch via streaming for free.
Here are all the BlizzCon cosmetic packs that will be available starting today:
- World of Warcraft BlizzCon Bundle ($29.99): Rabbit’ath Flying Mount, Garb of the Dawnfire Phoenix Transmog Ensemble, and the Perch of the Dawnfire Phoenix Decor.
- Overwatch BlizzCon Bundle ($29.99): Lich Queen Mei Legendary Skin, Frostmourne Ana Weapon Skin, Lichimari King Weapon Charm, and Lich Queen Mei Spray.
- Diablo 4 BlizzCon Bundle ($29.99): Streamsnout Pet, Indigo Cat Mount, and Escapeproof Armor Mount Armor.
- Diablo Immortal BlizzCon Bundle ($24.99). Rimedarter Familiar Transmog, Seekers of Riddergrove (Violet) Portal, 20 Legendary Crests, 10 Telluric Pearls, and a Mother’s Lament 2-Star Legendary Gem.
- Hearthstone BlizzCon Bundle ($24.99). Bloodmage Thalnos Signature Legendary Card, Blade of the Black Empire Card Back, and 5 Standard Card Packs.
- BlizzCon Ultimate Collection Bundle ($49.99). Everything from the five individual digital bundles, plus a World of Warcraft Murk’atath Pet, an Overwatch Lich Queen Mei Player Icon and Name Card, Diablo 4 Indigo’s Light Trophy and Indigo’s Master Trophy, a Diablo Immortal Astral Celebration Portrait Frame, and five additional Hearthstone Standard Packs.
- Free Player Rewards: In addition to the BlizzCon Digital Bundles, players can claim two free rewards in the Battle.net Shop for a limited time, all in celebration of BlizzCon 2026.
- For StarCraft 2, gain a 15-day co-op XP boost to accelerate Commander progression.
- In Heroes of the Storm, charge into the Nexus as Fix It Gear Head Thrall.
