Exclusive: Johanna Faries Talks BlizzCon 2026 & More
Exclusive: Blizzard Entertainment President Johanna Faries Talks BlizzCon 2026 & The Future of The Company’s IP
- BlizzCon 2026 will feature a Classic Cup for legacy titles like StarCraft and Heroes of the Storm.
- Blizzard is focused on strategic planning and a reliable cadence of major releases across its IP.
- Blizzard aims to create nuanced, diverse, and deeply layered characters and worlds in its games.
Blizzard Entertainment is poised to have a massive 2026, and Johanna Faries, the company’s president, is leading the charge.
In case you missed it, Blizzard Entertainment has rolled out spotlights for its biggest franchises, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Diablo.
Overwatch is currently enjoying a resurgence after ditching the 2 in its title, essentially hitting the reset button, while introducing 5 new heroes out of the 10 coming this year, as well as other improvements and quality of life updates.
Diablo announced that a new class, the Warlock, will be introduced across multiple games, including Diablo II: Resurrection, Diablo Immortal, and Diablo IV.
Oh, and we can’t forget, after taking a brief hiatus, BlizzCon is coming back, and it’s poised to be bigger and better than before.
HHW Gaming traveled to Blizzard Entertainment headquarters to chop it up with Johanna Fairies about her company’s big year.
Step into that conversation below.
The Return of BlizzCon
HHW Gaming: BlizzCon is back. What can fans expect this year that they were not expecting? Since it took a year off, what can fans expect when they come this year and see what’s going on?
Johanna Faries: Yeah. We’ve been working super hard to make sure that we deliver a bold, awesome gathering, well, for fans and for players. It’s all about community, that’s what it’s always been about for BlizzCon, but I do think having a couple of years to really think about what do we announce, how do we surprise, how do we delight, how do we go big in the right spaces, but how do we make sure that we keep our clear communities front and center, right? The goal will be, hopefully, people feel like, “Oh, I’m reconnecting with my lifelong friends,” or, “I’m making new lifelong connections by virtue of this gathering space.” And at the same time, I was really floored by what Blizzard devs and teams had to announce on behalf of the organization. So, if we can do both of those things and really put on a great show, I think we’ll be pretty proud.
BlizzCon 2026 Will Feature The Inaugural Blizzard Classic Cup
BlizzCon 2026 features the inaugural Blizzard Classic Cup for titles like StarCraft and Heroes of the Storm. Does this represent a renewed long-term commitment for these legacy titles, or is it specifically a tribute for the anniversary year?
We really just thought about, again, back to the community, and for people who’ve been going to BlizzCons for many, many years, or what can we do to make sure that this is a really awesome experience for those who have seen BlizzCon in many different forms over the decades. We knew that a Classic Cup would be something, hopefully, that the community could enjoy, and our esports experiences across the board, I think, really are a mass set of what makes a great BlizzCon sing in addition to all the other experiences that we’re going to bring forward. So, it was really about, “Hey, if we’re going to deliver in the right way, what do we think our communities will want to see?” And that was part and parcel of some of the outcomes in terms of what we’re putting together.
Johanna Faries Wants Blizzard To Be Strategic
You set a goal for Blizzard to deliver one or two really big things every calendar year. After the integration with Microsoft, what structural changes have you implemented to ensure that this reliable cadence of launches without compromising the Blizzard brand?
One of the things that I talk about a lot, and now, I think we’re seeing become a rhythm for how we organize our thinking, is planning. It’s not all that exciting a word, but I think in practice, we’ve talked about, “Let’s be strategic in not only our big swings creatively, and obviously, the world-class game experiences we want to bring forward for communities worldwide, but also, let’s make sure we’re really aligned on what we want to do, when we want to do it. No one size fits all. What’s true for one franchise might need to look really different for one of our other game franchises and universes, but let’s make sure we have a rhythm. Let’s take a long lens, know where we’re going multiple years out. Let’s be agile in the moment to make sure we can meet players where they are and make pivots accordingly.” But this sense of planning and being really thoughtful and cross-functional has been a muscle that is really important to me, and I think there’s really strong fruit when we’re doing it in a coordinated way.
Blizzard Will Continue To Create Nuanced, Deep, Rich Characters and Worlds
Now, you’ve spoken about the need for more nuanced and diverse lived experiences in the dev room for create better stories. How was this philosophy manifesting in the upcoming World of Warcraft: Midnight Expansion and/or new characters we might see in other games like Overwatch?
We’re always thinking about how do we create nuanced, interesting, deep, rich characters and worlds, right? And that’s been, I think, a signature for Blizzard over the many… 35 years now and counting. It will continue to be something we think about, right? How do we represent deep, layered, multidimensional story arcs and character arcs? Our players are as nuanced and sophisticated as the universes we build, and I think it’s really an honor to be able to see how our devs, our writers, our storytellers, our worldbuilders, come together and continue to raise the bar on that. So, you can expect that across every franchise because, again, I just think that’s part of the core secret sauce of what makes Blizzard really a powerhouse creatively.
The Development Teams On Blizzard IP Are Flourishing
Johanna Faries Says “No Idea Is Off Limits” Regarding Blizzard’s IP
With dedicated spotlights on games like Diablo, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft happening right now, which franchise do you believe is currently undergoing the most radical modernization to fit 2026?
I’ll be honest, I feel like every one of our teams continues to push the boundaries, and it’s not always big equals bold, right? It’s really just about how we make sure we are continuing to shape bold trajectories for our IP. And again, this, “No one size fits all. Let’s make sure we’re bespoke.” What’s true for Hearthstone over the next months or years needs to be true for Hearthstone players and our Hearthstone community, and so, too, for Overwatch and all of our other IP. So, all the teams are really rising to that challenge. This also intersects back to the planning piece, creating spaces for people to feel empowered, to have bold discussions, to learn about what’s worked, what isn’t working, to really make sure that we’re continuing to break the mold. “No idea is off limits, but once we align to something, let’s make sure we’re supporting it and giving it the full weight of what Blizzard can bring.” The teams are flourishing in that regard in terms of big ideas.
Johanna Faries Says Blizzard Is Just Focused On Current IP
You’ve hinted that your franchise heads need to know exactly where they’d be in three years from now. Without spoiling any surprises for summer, how much of Blizzard’s future involves the new places and new territories, and new IP versus the continuous scaling universes?
Right now, we are really focused on our existing IP, and the reason for that is that it has created strategic clarity, but we also believe that there’s so much more room and territory to unlock, even within our existing IP. I say this often, and I believe it, to have a portfolio this strong, this battle-tested in many ways over the decades, is just such a signature strength for Blizzard. There’s more we can continue to do, and I think teams are really excited about continuing to go deep. It doesn’t take anything else off the table, but it allows focus, right? And so, in the near-term, three, four years, that will be the primary focus, but again, no bad idea, right? We’re continuing to think, “Where do we want to be a decade from now? What’s going to be required then might be a different strategy than what’s required in the near-term. Let’s make sure we’re parallel pathing those opportunities.” I think Blizzard players, existing and new, will get a sense of bold trajectory and a dynamism across the portfolio that we’re pretty excited about.
