BlizzCon is back this weekend after a multi-year absence, and Blizzard has locked in the full schedule. The convention runs Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with developer update streams for World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Diablo all landing on day one. Every pass is sold out, but the main programming is streaming free. Here is what is on the schedule and where to watch it.
The Schedule
Both days run 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PDT. The tentpole moments are front-loaded into Saturday.
- Opening Ceremony: Saturday, September 12 at 10:30 a.m. PDT in Hall D
- World of Warcraft developer update: Saturday afternoon
- Overwatch developer update: Saturday afternoon
- Diablo developer update: Saturday at 1:45 p.m. PDT
- Community Night: showcasing fan creations, cosplay and community projects
- Esports: tournament play across both days
Sunday carries the rest of the panel programming plus the traditional community events, so day two is worth showing up for even though the announcements cluster on Saturday.
Community Events Worth Knowing
- Cosplay group photo at the Grand Plaza Fountain, Saturday at 3:00 p.m. PDT
- Darkmoon Faire After Hours, Saturday from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. PDT
- March of the Murlocs, Sunday, gathering in the Arena Plaza at 11:45 a.m.
How To Watch Without A Pass
All BlizzCon 2026 passes are sold out, which was expected for the first in-person show in years. Blizzard is streaming the main programming free across its official YouTube and Twitch channels as well as Battle.net, so the Opening Ceremony and the developer updates are all accessible from home.
That is a meaningful change from earlier BlizzCons, which gated a chunk of the programming behind a paid virtual ticket. Putting the core streams out free removes the main complaint people had about following the show remotely.
What To Expect From The Announcements
Blizzard has already spent 2026 setting the table. The Blizzard Showcase ran as four separate online presentations in late January and early February, covering World of Warcraft’s State of Azeroth on January 29, an Overwatch Spotlight on February 4, a Hearthstone Spotlight on February 9 and a Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight on February 11.
Those streams handled the near-term roadmap work, which frees BlizzCon to do what BlizzCon has historically done best: reveal the things that are further out. The Diablo slot is the one to watch given the anniversary framing earlier in the year, and World of Warcraft traditionally uses the Opening Ceremony for its biggest swing.
A reasonable expectation is expansion-scale news for at least one franchise, roadmap detail for the rest, and the usual mix of cinematics and hardware and merchandise reveals. Blizzard has not pre-announced specific reveals, so anything more precise than that is guesswork.
BlizzCon 2026 runs September 12 and 13 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with the Opening Ceremony at 10:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday and developer updates for World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Diablo following through the afternoon. If you are watching from home, the free streams on YouTube, Twitch and Battle.net cover the parts that matter. Saturday morning is where to start.
Which Blizzard franchise are you hoping gets the big reveal? Come make your case in the NerdBlocks forum.
