Game developer Blizzard Entertainment recently concluded its annual convention named ‘BlizzCon 2023’ after years of cancellation. This year, the event spanned across two days, November 3 and 4. It was held in person format for the first time post-pandemic at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
The opening ceremony was loaded with abundant announcements about fan-favorite games from the Blizzard banner, including Diablo, Overwatch, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and more. Microsoft Gaming’s CEO, Phil Spencer, made a surprise appearance during the opening ceremony and delivered a speech on some of the most popular Blizzard titles.
We had an amazing first day at the #BlizzCon Inclusion Nexus! Come back tomorrow for more chances to connect. pic.twitter.com/v9UOM5HWL3
— Life at Blizzard (@LifeatBlizzard) November 4, 2023
Notably, it was the first convention after Microsoft acquired Activison, the parent company of Blizzard. And the Microsoft CEO marked his presence at its newly and painstakingly acquired firm.
Blizzcon 2023 recap
Here’s the full recap of all the announcements, trailer launches, and more that took place at BlizzCon 2023:
BlizzCon 2023 Overwatch 2 announcements
Unfortunately, before the devs could launch the new hero in Overwatch 2 at the event, the information about Overwatch 2’s latest tank hero was leaked a few hours prior. Nonetheless, the game director Aaron Keller, gave more insights about Mauga’s addition to the game. He also talked about how Overwatch 2 connects everyone in the community, highlighting the game’s LGBTQ+ characters, cultures from around the world, and the Loverwatch event.
Keller was joined by Overwatch 2 art director Dion Rogers to introduce the new tank hero Mauga. A brief introduction to upcoming heroes Venture and Space Ranger followed this announcement. Apart from this, other key BlizzCon 2023 Overwatch 2 announcements included an introduction to the Clash game mode plus the Hanaoka map.
BlizzCon 2023 World of Warcraft expansion announcements
The Opening Ceremony also revealed about The Worldsoul Saga. It will feature three expansions, including World of Warcraft: The War Within, World of Warcraft: Midnight, as well as World of Warcraft: The Last Titan.
The first installment will be War Within, where players will get to explore the ancient civilization Khaz Algar in 2024. A cinematic trailer for the same featuring an older Anduin and Thrall was revealed at the BlizzCon 2023 stage.
BlizzCon 2023 WoW Classic announcements
Fans of World of Warcraft Classic also got some good news with the announcement of the new Season of Discovery, which will go live on November 30. The new season will have new features and unique rulesets, such as runes, rune-engraving, incremental level cap increases, reimagined dungeons, and world player-versus-player (PvP) events.
Cataclysm Classic announcement
The BlizzCon 2023 event also included the announcement of Cataclysm Classic, which will launch in 2024 and will bring in a plethora of quality-of-life changes and features. Some of these include a level cap of 85, new races Worgen and Goblin, the Archeology profession, streamlined leveling, dungeon difficulty modifiers, and a lot more.
Warcraft Rumble goes live at BlizzCon 2023
Warcraft fans who wish to play the game anything anywhere on the go, just recieved Warcraft Rumble. Blizzard Entertainment revealed that it is a mobile game requiring players to defend their own towers while destroy the enemy towers and their bosses.
BlizzCon 2023 Diablo 4 announcements
The mass favorite Diablo 4 was also among the games mentioned at BlizzCon 2023. Diablo 4 announcement announcement the game’s next expansion in Vessel of Hatred. It will feature a new region, information about Mephisto’s fate, a brand-new class, and more.
Blizzard later shared a post about the same which stated that Diablo 4 Season 3 will be able to enter The Gauntlet as a weekly challenge dungeon. The devs noted “At the end of each week, the combatants with the highest rank will have their name cemented in the Seasonal Hall of the Ancients for all of time.”
Hearthstone announcements at BlizzCon 2023
Blizzard’s own card game, Hearthstone was also spoken about at the BlizzCon 2023. The developers shared the announcement of its expansion titled Showdown in the Badlands. It will feature the adventures of outlaws Reno and Elise as they try to take down some corrupt townsfolk!
Apart from that it was announced that Hearthstone will include Battlegrounds Duos, a free Warcraft Rumble card back, plus the arrival of new Catch-Up Packs. These card packs will help players catch up with the new expansion. Blizzard shared that they include up to 50 cards.
“Catch-Up Packs are a new type of Hearthstone Pack that include a variable number of cards in them — between 5 and 50 cards per pack — based on the percentage of prior Standard expansion cards you’ve already received,” Blizzard noted.
They also revealed a new trailer featuring its Wild West theme and teased a few new cards. It adds Reno Lone Ranger, the game’s first neutral hero card. The expansion will launch on November 14.