Blizzard Watch WeeklySep 21, 2026 9:00 am CT

Blizzard Watch Weekly: We still need a nap, and more news from Warcraft

By Elizabeth Harper

We may have finally recovered from BlizzCon. Maybe. (I still feel like I need a nap.) Over the last week we’ve swept up a little more BlizzCon news and started diving into the World of Warcraft: Forever beta, which is keeping us busy. (There’s always just one more quest to do.)

If you’re out of the loop, you may want to start by catching up on all the news from BlizzCon, and then come back to this post to see what’s happened since. Here’s what’s been happening in the world of Blizzard games, and what’s coming up.

What happened last week?

The World of Warcraft: Forever beta test is now live, and you can either sign up on the website (for free) or order one of the Forever bundles (not free) to join in. Here’s how to get in to the beta if you want to check the game out early. Just remember: this is a beta test, so you can expect some bugs.
Looking to play the Skyborne, the new race in WoW: Forever? Here are the details on Skyborne classes, factions, and how to unlock them, as well as a quick BlizzCon glance at the Skyborne starting zone on Zephras Isle.
While we still don’t have all of the details, we’re already speculating on WoW: Forever’s raid bosses based on the achievements we’ve seen. Take a look for names and a bit of lore guesswork!
One of the more interesting new systems in WoW: Forever is Campfires, which you can set up all over the world to make a camp to earn tons of different buffs, depending on which professions players use when setting up the camp. It adds interesting new utility to professions, and has a fun social element, too.
We have all of the vibes from the BlizzCon show floor for you, as well as the excellent cosplay and look at the Last Call at the Arcantina tabletop game,
One thing we didn’t see at BlizzCon was news about WoW Classic servers, whether it’s Classic Era realms, Anniversary realms, or Mists of Pandaria realms. So what’s next for Classic? We have some speculation.
BlizzCon may be over, but you can still earn Twitch Drops for World of Warcraft through September 27 by watching anything in the World of Warcraft category, so tune in for the last call on these freebies, including extra Trader’s Tender!
I admit, we’ve been a little obsessed with WoW: Forever lately, but there’s a lot going on elsewhere: here’s what we have to look forward to on the Midnight roadmap over the next year.
- One exciting inclusion on that roadmap is definitely Wrath of the Lich King Remix, due out summer 2027.
- … also Undead, Darkspear Troll, and Night Elf Paladins.
- … also also details about Midnight Season 3 (though we still have a while to wait).
Playable Amazons are coming to Diablo 4 and I am just a tiny bit excited. Only a reasonable amount, though, as my enthusiasm tempered by the fact that they aren’t arriving until 2027.
This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl is the All-Star Squad Tavern Brawl, which is a frustrating one due to the lack of options. Pick one card and your deck will have 22 copies of it plus eight random cards. Pick Pogo-Hopper and you’ll (probably) win (if you go first). Pick anything else and you’ll almost certainly lose.

What’s happening this week (and beyond)

Through September 22: Midnight Winds of Mysterious Fortune buff available, plus bonus Trader’s Tender
September 28: Xal’atath in Heroes of the Storm
October 6: Overwatch Season 5 with new hero Doctrine
October 6 (estimate): WoW patch 12.1.5
October 20: Hearthstone: Reign of the Black Empire expansion
November 4: WoW: Forever launches
November 17: World of Warcraft D&D book launches

Other things we’re playing, watching, and more

We’re continuing our actual play of The Séance of Blake Manor on Twitch, and this week we’re tossing the rooms of all of our fellow hotel guests, and it’s not like it’s our fault that everyone leaves their journals just sitting in closed drawers inside their locked hotel rooms. If they didn’t want us to read them, they really should have hidden them better. Catch us streaming more Blake Manor and other indie games live Thursday at 8pm eastern (and follow us on Twitch to get notifications), and watch Liz, Liz, and Mitch exploring the manor here: