Blizzcon 2017: Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and more!

Blizzard Entertainment comes together with fans, developers and more every year to celebrate its huge catalogue of iconic titles and all things Blizzard. This year is no different, with Blizzcon 2017 taking place in Anaheim, California this weekend!

Trusted Reviews has compiled all the latest announcements, news, events and more. It’s been an absolute blast, so we’ve put together all the details you need below.

Blizzcon Latest News and Announcements

• Starcraft 2 is becoming a free-to-play title on November 14th alongside a new co-op commander and missions for the RTS.
• Hanzo and Alexstrasza confirmed as playable characters in Heroes of the Storm with gorgeous new cinematic.
• The 2018 update for Heroes of the Storm will include performance-based matchmaking, voice chat and a solid rework of the stealth system

• Kobolds and Catacombs has been announced as the next Hearthstone expansion, revealed with a ludicrously catchy new trailer.
• Blizzard is revealing a variety of new cards through an adorable choose-your-own-adventure with the Blizzcon crowd. This expansion’s new keyword is recruit.
• Dungeon Run is an all-new single-player experience coming to Hearthstone that will see you leveling up unique cards and characters. It’s essentially a ‘Hearthstone Rogue-Like’
• Blizzard World is a new map coming to Overwatch. It’s a theme park based on the studio’s legendary titles. It looks incredibly cool! The hybrid map will be going live early next year.
• Moira is the next hero coming to Overwatch. She’s a support character capable of both massive healing and damage.

• Reinhardt’s charming voice actor has taken to the stage to hand out candy and unveil a new animated short.
• The World of Warcraft segment has begun with the unveiling of World of Warcraft: Classic, a new server option for the MMORPG that aims to relive the original experience.
• The biggest news of the event is here with the announcement of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth with a new Level 120 cap, allied races and a long-awaited battle between the Horde and Alliance. Now we’ve also got the opening cinematic. That concludes the Blizzcon opening ceremony and all the big announcements!

Blizzcon 2017 Opening Ceremony – Where can I watch it?

This year’s opening ceremony saw a bundle of new announcements including a new World of Warcraft expansion, Overwatch hero, maps and all new content coming to both Hearthstone and Starcraft 2.

You can check it all out below!

Blizzcon Virtual Ticket – How do I buy it?

While the opening ceremony and several other parts of Blizzcon 2017 will be available for free, the virtual ticket can now be purchased for £24.99 and bags you far more exclusive goodies such as access to exclusive digital loot and panels set to take place across the weekend. 

Related: Overwatch Hero Guide

Overwatch at Blizzcon 2017 – What was revealed?

Jeff Kaplan took to the Blizzcon stage to reveal a brand new hero in the form of Moira, support character capable of healing allies and damaging enemies with great effect. She’s a blast to play, casting an aura of moral ambiguity that makes us ever so eager to discover more.

That’s not all, as Blizzard Land was also revealed, a hybrid map that’s essentially a giant theme park featuring all your favourite Blizzard titles. Reinhardt also received an excellent animated short that might require a few tissues.

Lastly, a multitude of cosmetic skins inspired by classic Blizzard titles such as Warcraft, Starcraft and more are coming to the multiplayer shooter.

World of Warcraft at Blizzcon 2017 – What did we see?

World of Warcraft had a huge presence at Blizzcon with the reveal of new expansion Battle for Azeroth and World of Warcraft Classic. The latter is a way for hardened players to revisit the original Warcraft experience without any experience.

Battle for Azeroth is almost the polar opposite of this, and it will see the Horde and Alliance conflict finally conclude with a truly epic battle. Players can expect new towns, quests, raids and more alongside scaled leveling across all zones. Both coming in 2018, World of Warcraft has a bright future ahead of it.

Heroes of the Storm at Blizzcon 2017

Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard’s universe-splicing MOBA, saw the debut of two new characters at Blizzcon 2017. Hanzo Shimada and Alexstrasza are will be playable in the near future, each with their own set of unique skills.

Heroes of the Storm’s 2018 update plans were also hinted at, showing some of the new features and core changes coming our way in the next few months.

These will include performance-based matchmaking, voice chat and a solid rework of the stealth system. Who you play with will now be determined by both wins and losses, a feature we’re quite eager to see in action.

Hearthstone at Blizzcon 2017

Hearthstone has a new expansion on the way! Kobolds and Catacombs has been announced as the next big piece of content, revealed with a ludicrously catchy new trailer.

Blizzard also revealed a variety of new cards through an adorable choose-your-own-adventure with the Blizzcon crowd. This expansion’s new keyword is recruit, a skill that sometimes allows cards to be summoned directly from your deck.

Related: Diablo 4

Dungeon Run is an all-new single-player experience coming to Hearthstone that will see you leveling up unique cards and characters. It’s essentially a ‘Hearthstone Rogue-Like’ that should be great for players not into the competitive scene

Diablo at Blizzcon 2017 – Any new announcements?

Unfortunately, Blizzard Entertainment confirmed in a recent forum post that Diablo will receive no new announcements at Blizzcon this year. However, things are in the works for future reveals.

‘This year, we want to give you a heads-up that while Diablo will be on the show floor, we won’t be making any new Diablo announcements. There will be a time for that at some point in the future, but that time is not now.”

Starcraft at Blizzcon 2017 – What could we see?

Starcraft 2 is going free-to-play on November 14th! More specifically, the upcoming version of Blizzard’s hugely popular RTS will let players experience the Wings of Liberty campaign and all co-op commander missions up to Level 5.

If you already own Wings of Liberty, Hearts of the Swarm can instead be claimed as a free expansion.

Blizzcon 2017 Goody Bag – What’s in it?

Available in two different variants, the Blizzcon 2017 goody bag is now available to purchase with a discount for virtual ticket holders.

We’ve compiled all the loot to be found in both versions below:

Related: Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro

Normal –

• A sleek black BlizzCon backpack, featuring a BlizzCon-themed lining
• A Badge Icon Pack containing 6 badges—1 each for World of Warcraft®, StarCraft® II, Diablo® III, Hearthstone®, Heroes of the Storm®, and Overwatch®
• 1 Blizzard Collectible Pin from Series 4
• 1 Cute But Deadly® Blind Vinyl from Series 3 (Overwatch Edition)
• 1 Overwatch Backpack Hanger featuring Eidgenossen Mercy, a BlizzCon exclusive

Epic –

• 1 Badge Booster Pack, containing 3 blind badges
• 1 additional Blizzard Collectible Pin from Series 4
• 1 additional Cute But Deadly Blind Vinyl from Series 3 (Overwatch Edition)
• 1 Overwatch Backpack Hanger Pack, containing 1 blind hanger
• 1 BlizzCon 2017 Mercy Pin, only available in the Epic Upgrade or with a $150+ purchase during the BlizzCon merch sale (coming soon!)

eSports at Blizzcon 2017

Blizzcon 2017 will play host to a multitude of different tournaments, many of which will incorporate professional teams from all over the world across all Blizzard titles.

We’ve compiled a list of the planned tournaments below if you want to check out specific bouts:

• World of Warcraft Arena World Championship
• Heroes of the Storm HGC Finals
• Overwatch World Cup 2017
• Hearthstone Invitational
• Starcraft World Championship Series Global Finals

What are you hoping to see from Blizzcon 2017 this weekend? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!