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Blizzcon 2023 started today as Blizzard president Mike Ybarra took the stage and began with his memories of playing games with friends.
Ybarra acknowledged that the firm is now a part of Microsoft, and he then introduced Xbox boss Phil Spencer to the stage. Spencer expressed that Blizzard and its title library occupy a special place within Microsoft.
During the Overwatch 2 segment, art director Dion Rogers introduced Mauga—the 39th character and the first Samoan character for the hero shooter.
The presentation then shifted to the Diablo 4 segment as production directors Tiffany Wat and Chris Wilson discussed the changes coming to the game’s current season.
It was announced that Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, the game’s first expansion, will be released in late 2024. The DLC will also include a new class for players to use.
Meanwhile, Hearthstone lead designer Cora Georgiou unveiled a new expansion for Hearthstone, Showdown in the Badlands. The new content will be launching on November 14.
Warcraft Rumble executive producer Vik Saraf took to the stage to announce that the mobile game is available to download and play today.
However, all the announcements at the show were not just new releases.
Executive producer of World of Warcraft Holy Longdale revealed that classic content for World of Warcraft would return, such as the Cataclysm expansion and additional hardcore content for the classic version of the RPG.
Chris Metzen, executive creative director of Warcraft, followed as he unveiled the franchise’s next expansion arc, World of Warcraft: The Worldsoul Saga.
The next chapter of the RPG will be a three-part expansion: World of Warcraft: The War Within, World of Warcraft: Midnight, and World of Warcraft: The Last Titan. More details will be provided in the future.
