Shack Chat: What was your favorite reveal from BlizzCon 2026?

Some surprising reveals from BlizzCon 2026 had the Shacknews staff debating our favorites.

A week has passed since BlizzCon had its epic Opening Ceremony, revealing what's in Blizzard Entertainment's future. There were some truly unexpected announcements, enough that we discussed our favorites among the Shacknews staff. Here are our favorite announcements from BlizzCon 2026 and we're excited to hear yours.

Question: What was your favorite reveal from BlizzCon 2026?

The Monk is coming to Hearthstone - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Hearthstone Player

I've playing Hearthstone since almost the beginning. I've been to numerous events. Whatever the context, press preview event, esports tournament, fan celebration, what have you, I've been there. In many, many cases, I've seen the Hearthstone developers get asked about the Monk. And they seemed determined to shoot it down, noting that the time had not arrived.

Well, now the time is here... kinda. The Monk is finally ready to debut in the 2027 Standard year and I'm excited to see it.

StarCraft, but I’m conflicted - TJ Denzer, Senior Terran News

When I learned the new StarCraft would be a shooter, I initially began imagining a blend of styles like Planetside or Tribes that might keep the factional warfare intact.

Rumor has it since that it will be an open-world single-player game. I don’t know about that. I think the StarCraft universe is cool and has wild stories to tell, but I hope they don’t entirely limit it to one overall narrative. I’d love to battle for my favorite faction in events and competitions.

StarCraft - David L. Craddock, Zerg sympathizer

I'm a Diablo guy through and through, but while I like some of the ideas that form the backbone of Diablo 5 (Diablo itself shaping the world as you play sounds cool!), I most enjoyed the StarCraft reveal. I’ve always enjoyed seeing StarCraft units at scale: Zerg Ultralisks towering over Terran Marines and the like, so the idea of an open-world shooter where I’ll get to see those and other units appeals to me.

StarCraft - Bill Lavoy, Shackmaps Overlord

StarCraft really jumped off the screen for me. I’ve never dabbled in the franchise but this reveal piqued my interest. We’ll see if I feel the same way come 2030, but as of right now I’m intrigued. That’s a bit surprising as normally I’m pulled into whatever Overwatch is doing only to never play it. I didn’t even trick myself into pretending I’d play Overwatch this time.

StarCraft - Sam Chandler, FPS Sicko

I’ve never been one to play Blizzard’s games outside of a few rounds of Overwatch in 2016. World of Warcraft never got its talons into me, I’m not particularly good at RTS games, and I completely missed the boat on early Diablo days. However, I think all of these worlds are extremely interesting, so getting an opportunity to explore StarCraft through a genre I’m comfortable with, a shooter, sounds great. Wild that I need to wait another four years to play it, though.

Doctrine announced for Overwatch - Donovan Erskine, Former Overwatch head

I love Overwatch. When it came out in 2016, it dominated my life like few other games ever have. The fact that we’re getting a Black vampire with dreads and a slick outfit is cool as hell. The kind of character whose design is so cool that I’ll main him for a little bit, even if I don’t love his kit.

These were our favorite picks from BlizzCon, but what were yours? Join the conversation and tell us your picks!

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