Xal’atath is coming to Heroes of the Storm, the first new content since 2022

For the first time in six years, Heroes of the Storm is getting a brand new character: Xal’atath, the Harbinger of the Void, will be joining the roster! This was the very first announcement during the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremonies, highlighting the prominence of this franchise (it’s not hopium if it’s real). Blizzard President Johanna Faires announced that there were so many games coming from the Blizzard team that they wouldn’t all get a chance to shine, but she wouldn’t stand on stage and do the announcement unless she could share meaningful information about a game straight from the Nexus — and then a brand new Heroes of the Storm trailer played and we got our look at the first major new Heroes content since the game was put into maintenance mode in 2022.

Xal’atath is going to be a ranged damage dealer with a focus on doing a lot of big damage and making enemies scared to come close. Which is good because she won’t be very tanky to go along with that high damage. Harness the powers of the void to destroy your enemies from afar, and even summon Voidwalkers to help keep them right where you want them.

Starting Monday, September 14, players will be able to try out Xal’atath on the Heroes of the Storm PTR and fully live in-game on September 28. Johanna also mentioned that Xal’atath isn’t the only new hero being worked on. Who could be next? Diablo 4 has a large, outsized presence that would make for an excellent character in Lilith, and Overwatch has had a bevy of good choices in their most recent hero announcements. Of course Blizzard could also want to get people hyped for the new Diablo 5 or StarCraft projects coming down the line.

The community has joked that all of the various patches and small updates we’ve been seeing over the years have been because of the janitor left in the Heroes building, which made the Janitor Leoric in the trailer a wonderful nod to the diehard fans who kept clamoring for more Heroes. I’ve been banging the drum and carrying the torch for the game for a long time. The game has always stood out as an amazing way to showcase the characters across Blizzard’s universes and help them stand out beyond just what you can see. Heroes is special, and I’m glad that it’s getting the attention it deserves!

It brings me so much joy to say — I’ll see you in the Nexus.