BlizzCon 2016 started yesterday with some interesting announcements that touch upon their newest games but also some old classics.
BlizzCon 2016 is happening right now in Anaheim, California, and Blizzard Entertainment is giving everything they can to their fans. The event lasts only two days but plenty of announcements have already happened. If you could not catch up the livestreams and have not heard about the latest news, we have summarized here for you.
Overwatch News: Introducing New Character and League
Let’s start with the biggest Blizzard pie of all. BlizzCon 2016 began showcasing (and confirming) the next Overwatch character. Her name is Sombra, she’s a powerful infiltrator and she comes ready to kick ass. Sombra uses abilities based on teleportation, invisibility and hacking in order to inflict big chunks of damage – and then vanish. Quite a resourceful character for your party if you know how to play it! You will find more details about her background on the Overwatch website.
Along with Sombra’s announcement, Blizzard also confirmed the presence of a new map. Ecopoint: Antarctica is designed for 1v1 and 3v3 in a playable Arcade mode and should be arriving to the game fairly soon. On top of this, Blizzard is planning an even bigger Esports horizon for Overwatch. The so called Overwatch League will be a “world-class ecosystem for professional Overwatch competition.” Head to their website to know more!
Diablo III: New Necromancer Class
Blizzard is celebrating 20 years of their Diablo franchise with the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls content update. Arriving next year, the luring bait for this expansion is a brand new class, the Necromancer. As you may imagine, this class takes magic from the power of death itself and uses it to command and rule over corpses and fallen warriors. The update will bring a new dungeon with 16 levels and a nostalgic touch, since we’ll battle the four main bosses from the original game.
And yes, a Diablo 4 teaser would have been too much to ask for, we reckon… *sighs and keeps on writing*
Hearthstone: Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Starts in December
If you are a Hearthstone lover, then you’ll be happy to know that the next expansion is hitting stores in early December. Mean Streets of Gadgetzan brings a plethora of new cards to add to your collection – 132 new ones, to be more specific. These will allow the creation of new strategies and classes, based on the current rooster. Head to their official website to get more details.
Heroes of the Storm: New Heroes and Brawl
Heroes of the Storm is growing its line-up of heroes with the inclusion of new Azeroth characters. Warcraft Alliance leader Varian Wynn arrives on November 15 and he’ll be the first multi-class hero, a combination of shielding and also offensive force. Lord Ragnaros will come one month later, warping elemental powers. On top of this, Blizzard has announced a new game Brawl, featuring captain Blackhearts, and the so called Nexus Challenge. Wanna know more? Then head to their official website and get all the details!
Starcraft II: New Mission Pack and Partnership with Google
November 22 will see the launch of the third and final Nova Mission Pack for Starcraft II. On top of that, character Alexei Stukov was confirmed to be infesting Co-Op Missions soon and also an upcoming map. Blizzard announced a collaboration between Starcraft II and Google’s DeepMind A.I. team. The purpose of such relationship? To study and deepen the knowledge of complex A.I. patterns in videogames.
BlizzCon 2016: Celebrating 25 Years of Blizzard
BlizzCon was created 10 years ago as an annual celebration of everything Blizzard related. This year they are also commemorating the 25th anniversary of the company, a journey that started back in 1991. If you want, you can still buy one virtual ticket that will allow you to follow the panels and all content from the comforts of your home. Here we leave you with the video shown in the opening ceremony. Enjoy!
