All the BIGGEST announcements from Blizzard’s first in-person Blizzcon show in years.
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Welcome to our shiny Blizzcon 2023 live blog!
Red Cloaked Horror
Blizzcon 2023 kicks off in Anaheim, California on Nov. 3, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.
Despite the Xbox partnership, Blizzard’s existing games will, of course, remain multi-platform affairs.
That means Blizzcon 2023 is relevant for any Blizzard fans regardless of your gaming platform of choice.
Red Cloaked Horror
UPDATE:The show has now ended!
Also a big shoutout to@Klobrille on X (Twitter)who created our awesome Blizzcon banner graphics.
Jez Corden
Could we see a Diablo 4 expansion?
This is the title of Mephisto, father of Lilith.
Mephisto featured in Diablo 2: Resurrected, and popped up to antagonize us in Diablo 4 too.
Raids coming to endgame?
The data mining has uncovered a new endgame activity, The Khazra Raid.
People have speculated this could be a five-leveled challenge with increasingly difficult bosses.
The Spiritborn are not merely fighters; they are guardians of balance.
They stand on the boundary between the physical world and the spiritual realm, ensuring harmony between the two.
Their mission is not just to defeat their enemies but to preserve the natural order of things.
But I do anticipate some controversy if this is announced before a Paladin.Do you guys not have shields?
Diablo 2 had mercenaries, Diablo 3 had followers, Diablo 4 has… a horse.
Jennifer Young
The next World of Warcraft expansion?
Historically speaking, Blizzcon is where new expansions for World of Warcraft are announced.
At Blizzcon 2023, though, players will want to know what’s coming next for the franchise.
There are some rumors about what wemightsee, and here’s a brief overview of that.
“The distant lands of Avaloren lay beyond the western horizon of Azeroth’s storming seas.
The text implies that the next expansion will be heavily dwarven.
Will it include a new class?
Will it have a major permanent new feature like Dragonriding?
The sky is the limit, really.
Blizzcon is starting VERY soon!
If you might catch the show live,it’s up on YouTube over here.
Jez Corden
Blizzcon 2023 has BEGUN!
Watch the opening ceremonyright here.
Sadly, there was no sign of some of Blizzard’s older franchises, like StarCraft.
Blizzard President and former Xbox CVP Mike Ybarra joined the stage to kick off his first event.
Ybarra describes Blizzard as having the “best gaming community in the world.”
Ybarra reiterated that it has been four years since the last in-person Blizzcon event.
“We have some of the best developers, artists, and storytellers in the world.
Someone is here backstage who’d like to say hello.”
Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer heads up on stage.
“Now that Blizzard is part of Xbox, we will nurture the essence of what makes Blizzard unique.
In Azeroth, in near-future-Earth, in Sanctuary, and beyond.
I’m honored to be able to here, to help welcome all of you to Blizzcon 2023.”
“The future of Blizzard is brighter than ever,” says Spencer.
Mike Ybarra returns to the stage, and looks visibly moved as he shouts out the Blizzard team.
Our path forward is truly our own, and I know we all stand together.
Thank you for everything you do.”
“Now, welcome to Blizzcon.”
Mauga is a tank hero with dual-wielding gattling guns.
Now, Blizzard is talking Overwatch 2023 World Cup, the finals of which are today.
Blizzard is now discussing Le Seraffim, a K-Pop group that is collaborating with Overwatch 2.
Hanaoka is being overhauled and refreshed, with a reworked system for ranked competitive play coming in 2024.
Blizzard wants to release four new heroes throughout 2024.
Diablo lead Rod Fergusson is up on stage now, talking Diablo.
Fergusson also has a necromancer tattoo,because he is based.
Tiffany Wat is now up on stage to talk Diablo 4’s future, alongside Chris Wilson.
Starting next week, Diablo 4 will introduce 5 unique rings based on Season 1’s Malignant affixes.
There’s a new enchanting preview window, similar to Diablo 3 as well.
There will also be a new Winter event, called Midwinter Blight.
Wat doesn’t want to talk Season 3 just yet, but there are also improvements to leaderboards coming.
Vessel of Hatred announced, Diablo 4’s first expansion
It’s World of Warcraft time!
Blizzard talks upWarcraft Rumble, which in-universe are mini robots gambled over in tavern basements alongside Hearthstone card players.
Warcraft Rumble launched yesterday, and hey, it’s pretty good.
Blizzard is ready to lay the foundation of World of Warcraft’s future, the team says.
From all of us at Blizzard, thank you."
First up is Hearthstone news.
Hearthstone is 10 years old now (wow, what?
), as Blizzard recaps the game’s modes and features added over the years.
Blizzard acknowledged how difficult Hearthstone is to get into for new players, owing to all the cards.
It’ll come early next year on PC, iOS, and Android.
Warcraft Rumble news is coming up next!
Warcraft Rumble’s north star is “joyful chaos,” with both PvP and PvE campaign game modes.
World of Warcraft news is up next.
Cataclysm launched originally in 2010, and saw the demented dragon Deathwing attempt to ravage the entire world.
Cataclysm Classic will launch in 2024.
The original WoW: Classic is also getting some new modes, called Season of Discovery.
Season of Discovery launches on November 30th, and should breathe new life into the game.
Now for modern World of Warcraft news!
Blizzard is also going to release an epilogue patch for Dragonflight, with a bridge to the next expansion.
And here it is.
World of Warcraft co-creator Chris Metzen has taken to the stage.
Metzen continues, “what’s in store for the next 20 years of adventure?”
The Saga is designed to play out over multiple expansions over the next years.
Metzen says Blizzard is set to debut the nextthreeexpansions, rather than just the single next expansion.
The Earthern, and the Nerubians take center stage.
Next, isWorld of Warcraft: Midnight, with a revamp to the old world of Azeroth.
The forces of the void invade Quel’thalas, to destroy the sunwell.
“We want to establish a thundering heartbeat for this franchise,” says Metzen.
“Now is the time to come home,” says Metzen, to lapsed players.
A trailer for The War Within plays, featuring Anduin Wrynn and Thrall.
The camera pans out to reveal Sargeras' sword, which has been ominously festering in Silithus for years.
Day 1 has ended!
That’s a wrap on our day-one coverage.
But it was a strong showing for existing franchises.
But, it was still probably the most important Blizzcon in years.
Keep it locked to Windows Central as we continue our live Blizzcon coverage over the next day.
Thanks for joining us, sharing, and commenting.
The War Within is the first of the DLC to come, and is scheduled to launch in 2024.
Notably, preorders for it are now available.
To win this mode, a team will need to capture all five points.
For more information and details, catch our completeroundup of every Overwatch 2 BlizzCon 2023 announcement.
Samuel Tolbert, Contributor
Welcome to DAY TWO!
Three days, no less.
We’ll have to wait and see how Blizzard responds in the coming days.
These are talent trees that enhance the flavor of your chosen spec.
There’s a huge range of potential for this feature, particularly as we look to future expansions too.
Samuel Tolbert
New World of Warcraft: The War Within zones!
The realms are known as Khaz Algar in the dwarven tongue, and is comprised of four main zones.
The Ringing Deeps:Below the Isle of Dorn is an area known as the Ringing Deeps.
Sunlight shines through the ceiling, giving it surface-like flora and fauna.
Kobolds swarm the Deeps, however, owing to Earthen populations decreasing.
Endowed with Holy Fire, the Arathi battle the Nerubian threat, bolstered with new allies (us!)
Hopefully a cinematic will teach us how to pronounce this properly.
The City of Threads is a dungeon too, in addition to the Nerubian Palace raid.
It looks like we may be wiping these critters off the face of Azeroth once and for all.
Red Cloaked Horror
What could have led Neyrelle back to this place?
The rings will be farmed by fighting endgame boss Varshan, and there is one ring for each class.
Finally we will be able to see the potential rolls when enchanting our gear at the Occultist.
Red Cloaked Horror
But positive change is positive change and I can’t wait to have more control over my rolls.
The Abattoir will increase in both difficulty and rewards.
Either way, we’re going to need an ice scraper to fight “demon snowmen”.
Rejoice Diablo 4 fans!
panel held on Day 2 expanded on opening day’s big reveals with plenty of additional details and information.
Brendan Lowry
And that’s a wrap!
Foster joy and belonging for everyone… that’s what BlizzCon is all about.
Proud to be part of these incredible communities with all of you!
Until next time BlizzCon, be great to each other and we’ll see you in game!
https://t.co/usszVvDqibNovember 5, 2023
And that’s a wrap for Blizzcon 2023.
Still, it was a special Blizzcon for a number of reasons.
Microsoft will want to invest in what made Blizzard such a legend in this industry.
So stay tuned, and thanks for joining us.
