Blizzard’s Faries: Early Diablo 5, StarCraft Reveals Prove Studio Will ‘Ship on Time’

Blizzard Entertainment president Johanna Faries has defended the studio’s decision to reveal StarCraft and Diablo 5 years before either game is playable, telling Bloomberg the early windows are meant to “convey confidence in some of our biggest bets coming forward.” The comments followed BlizzCon 2026’s opening ceremony on September 12, where Blizzard confirmed Diablo is aiming for 2029, and StarCraft won’t be out until 2030 at the earliest.

Faries went further than the standard talking point, putting the studio’s reputation directly on the line. “We’re a Blizzard that’s going to ship, and ship big, and ship on time, and all hands on deck to set those projects up for success,” she said.

Diablo 5 Spring 2029, StarCraft 2030

Blizzard unveiled both projects during the same opening ceremony. The StarCraft project is an open-world shooter that’s due to release in 2030, marking the series’ first new entry since StarCraft II. Diablo 5, revealed on the franchise’s 30th anniversary, is currently scheduled for Spring 2029.

Neither reveal came with a firm launch date, a platform list or a full gameplay demonstration. Neither game has a firm launch date, platform list or full gameplay reveal yet.

Faries Frames Two and a Half Years of Rebuilding

Speaking separately to Korean press at the show, Faries linked the early windows to internal changes she has pushed since taking the top job. Over the two and a half years since taking office, she focused on transforming Blizzard into an organization capable of building and executing long-term plans, wanting to show confidence that the company can now attach dates to major targets and deliver on those promises.

That marks a break from Blizzard’s old playbook. Considering how Blizzard historically adhered to its principle of “When it’s ready” and rarely committed to specific timelines early on, this represents a remarkably unusual shift. Diablo 4 itself was revealed in 2019 without a release date and didn’t ship until roughly four years later.

Dan Hay Backs the 2030 Target

The confidence framing wasn’t limited to Faries. StarCraft project lead Dan Hay, a former Far Cry director, told GamesRadar+ that 2030 is “a date we feel really confident about.” Hay added that the team has been “working on this for a little bit” and “feel good about it, and so it’s important that we share.”

On stage, Hay was blunter about the wait fans have already endured for a StarCraft follow-up. He unveiled the new StarCraft project, an open-world shooter he described as a chance to “reignite” the universe, with the reveal trailer following a squad of Terran soldiers training and shipping out to fight the Zerg, and the game carrying the simple title StarCraft, due in 2030.

Read also: Diablo 5 Revealed at BlizzCon, Diablo 4 Confirmed for Switch 2 on Sept 15

1,600 Xbox Cuts Loom Over the Promise

The confidence pitch lands against a rougher backdrop at Blizzard’s parent company. Her comments came as Microsoft faces further planned cuts, with VGC reporting that 1,600 roles have yet to be confirmed. Faries declined to say how the cuts might touch Blizzard directly.

Instead she framed her own job in cultural terms. “I’m completely focused on creating as healthy a Blizzard as possible,” she said, adding, “The unique special sauce that is Blizzard both culturally and creatively.” She also told Bloomberg that serving Microsoft’s bottom line and protecting Blizzard’s studio culture could be “a mutual win.”

Blizzard used the same opening ceremony to announce a Diablo animated series with Netflix, an Xal’atath hero reveal for Heroes of the Storm, and WoW Forever, a new variant of the MMO running alongside Classic. Spring 2029 and 2030 now stand as the first hard dates Blizzard has attached to a mainline Diablo and StarCraft entry at the moment of their reveal in over a decade.

Reported from

• Video Games Chronicle
• GamesRadar+
• Kotaku
• Inven Global