UPDATE: And that's a wrap! The BlizzCon opening ceremony is over. We got an Overwatch announcement, a Hearthstone expansion reveal, info on Legacy of the Void and more. Stick with us for more coverage from the show over the weekend and beyond.
ORIGINAL STORY: Blizzard's annual BlizzCon jamboree kicks off tonight, and while Eurogamer editor Oli Welsh has his nose to the ground at the show itself, a few of us back home will be covering events from Anaheim as they happen.
When will Hearthstone receive its much-needed new cards? What does the future hold for Diablo 3 after the meaty 2.1 patch? Might we even hear more about Project Overwatch, Blizzard's rumoured new game? Why did Blizzard trademark the name Eye of Azshara, and is there any substance to the Warcraft RTS remake rumours? Expect to hear the answers to all these questions and more in the coming hours.
Eurogamer's guides editor and Blizzard fanatic John Bedford will be joined by deputy editor Wesley Yin-Poole for live chitchat as the opening ceremony unfolds from 7pm UK time, and we hope you'll join us in discussing the announcements as they happen. We'll also be posting all the latest news and developments that break out of the Hearthstone and Diablo 3 sessions scheduled to take place from 9.15pm tonight.
(You can watch the opening ceremony for free over at the official BlizzCon site, but you'll have to buy a virtual ticket to enjoy the rest of the show coverage.)
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
I'd love to see Warcraft 3 redone in the StarCraft 2 engine. Would be great to go back to that classic.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Baban_Iesu: I'm hoping for an MMO set in the world of Hearthstone. It's so rich!
BRAVO!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Baban_Iesu: I'm hoping for an MMO set in the world of Hearthstone. It's so rich!
I'll settle for 100 new cards before the end of the year, with at least one entirely new mechanic to keep the meta churning over between release and the next lot. Fingers crossed!
– John Bedford
Just checked the schedule for today and there's uninterrupted Hearthstone play from 8.45pm until 7am - the dream.
– John Bedford
Pokkai: Eye of Azshara will be the next WoW expansion.
Blizzard's been targeting that 12-18 months expansion turnaround target since The Burning Crusade. Maybe they've finally cracked it, maybe it's Hearthstone - I'd be surprised if they don't draw on more of the existing WOW universe first though. Not long to find out...
– John Bedford
One and a half hours to go! Time to buy some snacks, there's a long night ahead.
– John Bedford
morley83: The Hearthstone stream has kicked off, they're starting the group stages before the opening ceremony
Yup, needs more Ben Brode though. That laugh...
http://www.twitch.tv/playhearthstone
– John Bedford
Hello from Anaheim! I'm sat in front of the main presentation stage - I was in before the doors opened and witnessed an actual stampede, people running in screaming. Felt like joining them. I am EXCITED.
– Oli Welsh
There's mystery two-hour gap in the presentation schedule after the opening ceremony, and we've been urged to keep our seats. Everything points to A NEW GAME.
– Oli Welsh
I also have a half-hour slot with a mystery interviewee tomorrow. Who could it be?
– Oli Welsh
By the way, I'm fairly sure that Eye of Azshara is a new Hearthstone expansion, not World of Warcraft. Bearing that in mind - and that WOW, Starcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo and Heroes of the Storm all have presentations later in the day - I'm sure we're looking at a reveal for the mysterious Overwatch.
– Oli Welsh
Then again, every time I get myself excited about a new Blizzard reveal it turns out to be another WOW expansion, so I'm trying to keep a lid on my oh god it popped off and I spilled it everywhere AGAIN
– Oli Welsh
There's an awful lot of love for Ben Brode in the chat from that Hearthstone Twitch stream. A lot of filth as well, obviously, but mainly love.
– John Bedford
We're keeping an eye on Blizzard's Twitch / YouTube channels by the way, and we'll embed the opening ceremony if it shows up. Otherwise, the link above this chat will take you to the official site - you'll need a fancy virtual ticket to watch the rest of the show though.
– John Bedford
The extent to which Blizzard has taken over this corner of Southern California is incredible. Walking to dinner last night it was a sea of BlizzCon lanyards and WOW guild T-shirts. Our hotel is showing Hearthstone streams in the bar. This show is BIG.
– Oli Welsh
A dudebro driving past us at an "intersection" (get me - I'm in America!) shouted "NERDS" out of the window of his truck and sped off. Good thing too, he'd have been vastly outnumbered.
– Oli Welsh
So, what do we know about Overwatch? It's the project name - or possibly just the name - of a small team project within Blizzard. We think the team is led by Mike Booth, who joined Blizzard last year. Mike Booth is the original founder of Turtle Rock Studios (Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead).
– Oli Welsh
Is there a link between Overwatch and the cancelled MMO project, Titan? Maybe. As far as we know a small core of the Titan team remains at Blizzard - it and the Overwatch team might be one and the same. Meanwhile, Booth is a specialist in lean multiplayer shooters, and Kotaku recently reported that Titan's action gameplay component was a team shooter reminiscent of Team Fortress 2: http://kotaku.com/heres-what-blizzards-titan-actually-was-1638632121
– Oli Welsh
That's probably enough speculation, since it might all be shot down in half an hour! Also, they've started showing trailers in here and the crowd is growing bananas. I can't hear myself think.
– Oli Welsh
15 minutes folks! I just know I have the grin of a child on my face right now...
– John Bedford
Warcraft 4 anyone?
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Alright chums let's do this...
– John Bedford
– John Bedford
And let's have a Heroes of the Storm beta announcement. And some more heroes.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
A in-game tournament system for Hearthstone, 100 new cards, co-op play, and a replay system would do me just fine.
– John Bedford
They just cut Geoff Keighley off. Massive cheers. Coincidence?
– Oli Welsh
Right, BlizzCon is go!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Blizzard's going through the creation of World of Warcraft, which turns 10 years old soon. Ah, the memories. All the memories.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
One day I'll tell the story of when my friend nearly blew up his leg while playing World of Warcraft. One day.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
The atmosphere in here is unbelievable. You always get a buzzing crowd at BlizzCon, but this is another level. The noise!
– Oli Welsh
Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime is on stage. Hello everyone!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Fine words from Mike Morhaime here. Respect.
– John Bedford
Mike Morhaime with a thinly veiled dig at GamerGate there, calling on people to reject hate and harassment. "Let's redouble our efforts to be kind and respectful to one another."
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Morhaime now onto Blizzard's World of Warcraft documentary, Looking for Group. It'll debut at BlizzCon tomorrow and will be on the official website later.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
We're going to get a look at work in progress footage of the World of Warcraft movie later, too.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Morhaime looks weirdly nervous and excited. It's not like he hasn't done this before. I wonder why?
– Oli Welsh
He looks fit to burst into a "Oh, and one more thing..."
– John Bedford
Heroes of the Storm closed beta 13th January 2015!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
New heroes, too: Jaina, Thrall and the Lost Vikings. New Battlegrounds, skins and Ranked Play, too.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Of the new HOTS heroes, I didn't think you could top the cheer for Thrall, but Lost Vikings did it. Ear-splitting.
– Oli Welsh
Hearthstone hits Android tablets in December, Blizzard's just said.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Goblins vs Gnomes is the expansion for Hearthstone. Over 120 new cards!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Sheep card!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Well, that's the first of my predictions shot down...
– Oli Welsh
Goblins vs Gnomes is out in December. I want the sheep card. Sheep card!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Right, now on to StarCraft 2. What you got Blizzard?
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Ah, it's Legacy of the Void time.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
No-one does cinematics like Blizzards. Best around.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Legacy of the Void is the final chapter of the StarCraft 2 trilogy. Blizzard says it's a standalone game.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Now Chris Metzen is on stage. Mr Warcraft here.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Sounds like he's about to announce a brand new IP.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Cartoon visuals introducing Overwatch - a team of heroes and oddities formed to protect a sci-fi near future against some Communist-looking bad guys.
– Oli Welsh
This looks like the heavily rumoured Overwatch.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
I'm getting a Pixar vibe here.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Blizzard's character art has always been sensational. Love the gorilla guy.
– Oli Welsh
Jeffrey Kaplan says Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer shooter.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Jeffrey Kaplan was game director of the cancelled MMO Titan, so Overwatch is probably a reworked version of that.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Kaplan was a key designer on WOW who led its development during the Burning Crusade / Lich King purple patch, so he's a pretty safe pair of hands.
– Oli Welsh
Overwatch is a first-person shooter. I'm thinking Team Fortress 2.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
The Overwatch beta is in 2015. There's a website live where you can sign up.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Right, that's the opening ceremony done and dusted!
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Geoff Keighley is doing an interview with Mike Morhaime. We'll stick with this.
– Wesley Yin-Poole
Right, we're done! Thanks for reading. We'll have updates from BlizzCon over the weekend, and more on all the announcements, as well as interviews with Blizzard developers.
