After a three-year hiatus, there was a tangible and energetic aura of excitement among BlizzCon attendees, from badge pickup to the final hours of Blizzard Entertainment’s convention. First off, thank you to our friends over at G Style Magazine for helping us get access to BlizzCon. As usual, when going to a convention, I like to show up early for easy badge pickup and to decompress for the event. My early and the average BlizzCon attendee’s early are entirely different. Driving up to the Anaheim Convention Center at 6:45 am and seeing the peak holiday Disneyland crowds was insane. The doors would not open for the general public until 10 am, but that did not mean a thing; these people were not missing one bit of BlizzCon’s return.
It has been years since I have dove into any of Blizzard’s universes. Growing up I played a lot of Warcraft 3, Diablo 2, and World of Warcraft. More recently, I have beaten the base story in Diablo IV and played a little bit of Overwatch. Going into this event, we uploaded a video highlighting some expectations, and mine was, “What is going to make me get back into World of Warcraft?” Funny enough, we did not have to wait long before that question was answered.
BlizzCon’s Opening Ceremony
Media were allowed to enter the show floor early to get set up in a designated seating area for the opening ceremony. If you’ve seen the videos of the giant crowd, here’s how they got there. Pure and utter chaos. Once the doors were open, a literal wave of people sprinted in to find open seats. Abruptly did the people rush in, and just as abruptly the masses settled in and quieted for the official beginning of BlizzCon. Then the president of Blizzard Entertainment, Johanna Faries, took the stage and set the tone of the convention with plenty of heartfelt emotion and excitement. Immediately after that, the BlizzCon stage became the center of Blizzard Entertainment’s universe. Then came announcements of upcoming additions to current games and new games coming in the future.
Heroes of the Storm
The opening ceremony announcements kicked off with the first new hero in Heroes of the Storm in 6 years. Xal’atath is the latest playable hero added to Blizzard Entertainment’s MOBA.
Netflix Animated Series
President of Blizzard Entertainment, Johanna Faries, then went on to announce an animated Diablo TV series will be making its way to Netflix. Alongside that, Overwatch and Warcraft projects were also teased to be worked on next.
Starcraft Making a 2030 Return
Starcraft’s return was announced with a cinematic trailer that follows the life of a promising Dominion recruit. The trailer had the crowd pumped up and ready to fight for the Dominion alongside the onscreen recruits. Until the realities of the war gruesomely played out and you felt the energy of the crowd shift instantly to one of contemplation and doubt. This trailer and announcement had me hyped; I even went home and watched the trailer again with my wife.
Overwatch “Doctrine” Cinematic
The ninth hero to be added to Overwatch was announced with a dope animated cinematic. Doomfist, Reaper, Widowmaker, and Sombra are doing a prison break. They end up fighting a giant and releasing one of the smoothest vampires in history from prison. You can watch our interview with Tashinga Bepete, the voice of Doctrine, below.
Diablo, Diablo, and Finally Diablo
As of today, Season of Hell’s Legacy goes live, and Deckard Cain will return to Sanctuary in Diablo IV. Todd McFarlane’s darkest creation, Spawn, will be making his way to Diablo Immortal. Nintendo Switch 2 gamers can now save Sanctuary, as Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection is available now. The Amazon class is making its way to Diablo IV in 2027. Diablo V was announced and is currently slated to release in 2029.
Hearthstone is Expanding
Hearthstone is getting a new expansion called Reign of the Black Empire, and even the Monk class is coming to the game. There is also a new gameplay mechanic called Assemble that will allow you fuse cards together. Prepare for some busted combinations.
Warcraft!
Now initially, I went into this BlizzCon hoping to see something that will make me want to get back into World of Warcraft. And boy did this opening ceremony deliver! World of Warcraft: Midnight Eclipse and The Last Titan were announced. The epic conflict with Xal’atath is on the horizon, and it will directly lead up to The Last Titan storyline. Warcraft 3 is the game that introduced me to the Blizzard universe. And it was announced that a new campaign called Forsaken Kingdom is available now. But the big final announcement was World of Warcraft Forever! Classic Plus is real, and there will be a beta for it starting September 17. There will be new dungeons, 10-20 player raids, new zones to explore, and even a new playable race. AND CONTROLLER SUPPORT!!
On top of that, attendees were able to enjoy a top-tier opening ceremony that offered something for everyone. Each area of the show floor was meticulously designed after one of the games. There was a whole tavern in the Hearthstone area. Each area had plenty of photo op spots, including some wonderful artwork, especially in the Diablo area. BlizzCon had stations for attendees to try demos of most announced games, except Diablo V and Starcraft for obvious reasons. This BlizzCon was informative, well designed, and had plenty of activities for attendees to participate in. The Blizzard community as a whole was warm and welcoming. Smiling and excited faces were visible everywhere. BlizzCon is definitely on my must-attend list from now on.
