Everything from BlizzCon 2018

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT | Photo Courtesy
Outside the Anaheim Convention center for Blizzcon.

Every year Blizzard Entertainment sets up shop in the Anaheim Convention Center in California for their large convention, BlizzCon. There they show off everything coming to one of the best game lineups in the industry. Everyone is invited to this celebration of the Blizzard catalogue, for a price of course.

Some of the reveals are amazing, and others are filled with controversy. So here is a quick rundown of all the things that 2018 BlizzCon had to offer fans.

‘World of Warcraft’

Let’s start off with Blizzard’s biggest game, “World of Warcraft,” a game that has been running for 14 years now and is beloved by many.

They started off by wowing audiences with another fantastically crafted cinematic titled “Lost Honor.” Blizzard has always been great at making cinematics, and this one was no exception.

“Lost Honor” sees the king of the Alliance, Anduin Wrynn, preparing the armies for a large battle to come. To prepare for this, he seeks a pact with Saurfang, the Orc that believes the Horde is headed down a dark path. Together, Anduin believes they could beat the Horde.

The outcome of this decision will be seen in game come Dec. 11 when the first major patch for “World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth,” titled “Tides of Vengeance,” launches.

Players can then embark on the second large-scale expansion called “Rise of Azshara.” Players will explore a new continent and fight Azshara, the leader of the Naga. They will also meet the famous Mechagnomes (part robot, part gnome). The released date has not yet been announced.

Blizzard also announced the launch window for the nostalgia-driven “World of Warcraft: Classic.” “Classic” will be launching sometime in the summer of 2019 and will be included in current WoW subscriptions. Players will be able to experience “World of Warcraft” in its early years without the massive changes that seven expansions have since brought.

‘Overwatch’

“Overwatch” is still one of the most popular shooters on the market, and it’s time for a new hero to grace the game. Ashe, the 29th hero, was revealed at BlizzCon 2018.

Ashe is similar to McCree in that they are both cowboy-like people and have a shared history. Ashe sports a shotgun and has a large robot companion named Bob.

Alongside her announcement came a cinematic that showed an interaction between her, McCree and Bob. No release date has been announced yet for Ashe, but it will most likely be soon.

If you would rather build and play “Overwatch” in the physical world, then Lego has you covered. Starting Jan. 1, Lego will be launching an official “Overwatch” line that looks like it’s going to be a great gift.

‘Heroes of the Storm’

“Heroes of the Storm” is Blizzard’s successful multiplayer online battle arena game (MOBA) that takes characters from every Blizzard game and has them fight in the Nexus. Well, the newest hero to come to the game is not from any Blizzard game, but rather is an original character for “Heroes of the Storm.”

Her name is Orphea, and she is the daughter of the Raven Lord, one of the overlords of a map in the game. She is the 83rd character to join the roster and the first completely original one.

She will be available in the next major patch for “Heroes of the Storm.” No release date has been announced yet.

‘Hearthstone’

“Hearthstone” is probably the most popular digital trading card game, so it makes sense that it is getting a new expansion. This one is titled “Rastakhan’s Rumble” and is themed after the latest expansion for “World of Warcraft.” With this expansion comes a new story and many new cards when it launches Dec. 4.

‘Diablo’

One of the largest, and most controversial, announcements came with “Diablo: Immortal.” The last major entry in the series, “Diablo 3,” came out in 2012 and has not had much content since then, so fans of the series were eagerly awaiting a new game. What they got, however, did not please anyone.

“Diablo: Immortal” is a mobile game in the Diablo universe. Not a typical PC Diablo game, but one that you can play anywhere.

Fans of the series were not happy.

The trailer currently has 132,000 dislikes on YouTube. Apparently it had more, but they have disappeared for an unknown reason. Some people point to Blizzard, but no one knows for sure. Fans also took to the Q&A panel at BlizzCon to voice their concerns.

One person asked if it was an April Fools’ joke, which incited laughter from the crowd. Another asked if it was ever coming to PC. The developers were bombarded with large boos from the crowd when they answered no.

Needless to say, this is not what “Diablo” fans want.

‘Warcraft 3 Reforged’

The most surprising piece of news came with the reveal of “Warcraft 3: Reforged.” It is a complete remaster of the original game that came out in 2002 and goes back to the real-time strategy roots of the Warcraft series.

The original is credited with the creation of some very popular games via its world editor tool. “League of Legends” is one of those games that was first conceived in “Warcraft 3.” So with this remaster, that famous world editor will be coming back and may bring about the next hit.

Preorders are now live, but no official release date has been announced. From its announcement, this has become many people’s most anticipated game, and hopefully the wait will be worth it.

That is pretty much all the biggest news to come out of BlizzCon this year. There was really nothing on “StarCraft II” except a new co-op commander. Many new reveals, updates and controversy came out of it. Hopefully, Blizzard will not disappoint and can do something to bring back the “Diablo” fans, but we will have to wait and see.

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