Blizzard Entertainment’s BlizzConline has begun, a completely virtual version of the annual celebration of Blizzard games and community, with a long line of news and announcements for a global audience of fans tuned in for FREE at www.blizzcon.com.
During the opening ceremony of the just-concluded event, company president J. Allen Brack and the chief developers of the Blizzard franchises reflected on the past and shared an exciting vision of the future, revealing several upcoming games and updates to the content to come. explored throughout the show.
One of the most acclaimed titles ever in PC gaming history makes its big comeback with Diablo II: Resurrected, a remaster of the classic Blizzard action RPG and its award-winning expansion, Lord of Destruction, coming later this year to Windows PC and, for the first time, to consoles. PC gamers can sign up now on diablo2.com for a chance to participate in the upcoming public testing phase.
Blizzard also unveiled the Cutthroat for Diablo IV with a grim announcement trailer and gameplay footage featuring the new class in action. The Cutthroat is a fast, mobile and deadly class with unmatched versatility. Players can play Cutthroat in many different ways, attacking and trapping enemies or using poison, shadow magic or other specialized techniques.
Blizzard also has many surprises in store during theYear of the Griffin for Hearthstone, the popular free-to-play digital card game, starting in the coming weeks. Hearthstone New Year will include a new Main set of cards intended to bring a breath of fresh air and the introduction of the Classic formatwhich will allow players to build decks and compete with Hearthstone cards as they were when the game was released in 2014.
Coming with the Year of the Griffin is also the first Hearthstone expansion of 2021, Forged in the Savannahsinspired by the iconic World of Warcraft setting where millions of adventurers began forging their own legends, available for pre-purchase at playhearthstone.com.
Later in the year it will also come Hearthstone mercenariesa competitive and single-player mode in which players will be able to gather powerful characters from the Warcraft universe and upgrade them in highly strategic battles.
As for World of Warcraft, Blizzard has announced Domain chainsthe first major content update coming in 2021 for the recent Shadowlands expansion, plus a new one charity mascot program which will provide two pets (the monkey Banana and the sloth Daisy) to modern WoW players once the donation goals are met. Blizzard also revealed Burning Crusade Classic, an authentic recreation of the acclaimed first expansion of World of Warcraft. It too will be available later in the year and included in your existing World of Warcraft subscription at no additional cost to players.
Now included as part of Blizzard’s Anniversary Celebration Collection on Windows PC (via Battle.net), as part of the Blizzard 30-Year Celebration Collection on console, or as a standalone game on console, the Blizzard Arcade Collection is a digital set of Blizzard’s original console hits The Lost Vikings, Rock N Roll Racing and Blackthorne, revamped for modern platforms.
In the next few hours today and again from 12:00 PST tomorrow, six programming channels will allow you to delve into the news of the Blizzard franchises, including the highly anticipated sequel to the company’s hugely successful shooter, Overwatch 2with a behind-the-scenes look at development, and the new massively multiplayer online action RPG for mobile devices Diablo Immortal. In this regard, Blizzard has recently completed the first phase of regional testing of Diablo Immortal, which will continue in the coming months, receiving enthusiastic feedback from the testers. Recently, the game also received approval for release in China. Viewers of the show will also be able to enjoy exclusive exhibition esports matches between professionals from StarCraft And StarCraft IIas well as a battle between the reigning champions ofOverwatch League ™the San Francisco Shock, and a dream team made up of professionals, big names in the community and others.
To recreate the spirit of live conventions, BlizzConline will also have a special focus on the creativity and skill of those who can bring Blizzard games to life. There will be several events featuring artists, musicians, voice actors, content creators and streamers, as well as an epic showcase featuring some of the talented cosplayers, writers and artists that make up the Blizzard community.
