Looks like a solid lineup for Blizzard.
BlizzCon 2023 has kicked off in Anaheim, California, where Blizzard Entertainment celebrated player communities live and in person for the first time in four years at the industry-staple event.
The president of Blizzard Entertainment Mike Ybarra opened this morning’s show by expressing appreciation for the studio’s millions of players around the world. “BlizzCon isn’t just about the latest updates from Blizzard – it’s about all of you. Players are at the forefront of everything we do, and we’re devoted to supporting these incredible communities,” he said. “All of us—gamers, developers, and fans—we are all united in our shared love for gaming.”
Then developers from all of Blizzard’s major titles made announcements during the convention’s opening ceremony. Some of the highlights include:
- The teams kicked off a bold new chapter in the near-30-year-old franchise Warcraft universe, with new stories and experiences across multiple games set in the legendary world of Azeroth.
- World of Warcraft®: The War Within™ is the first installment of The Worldsoul Saga™, an ambitious creative endeavor for the Warcraft universe. In this expansion slated for release in 2024, players will travel to the new continent of Khaz Algar as an ancient civilization rises to power deep beneath the surface of the planet.
- The vision for The Worldsoul Saga was announced to players around the world live on stage, including two expansions following The War Within—World of Warcraft®: Midnight™ and World of Warcraft®: The Last Titan™.
- Warcraft Rumble™, the first Warcraft game designed from the ground up for mobile, is live now on iOS and Android! An action-packed strategy game, Rumble invites players to assemble armies with their favorite characters from the Warcraft universe and battle it out to test their tactical wits. With over 70 unique missions, as well as weekly and monthly challenges in the form of multipart dungeons, PvP, and more, Warcraft Rumble is full of authentic Warcraft vibes, created by a team with deep roots in the game universe.
- World of Warcraft Classic invites players to return to Azeroth once again and begin a new journey—with a twist! In Season of Discovery, players will start a fresh adventure where exploration and experimentation will be key to unlocking new abilities for their characters. Then, in 2024, Classic players will witness the breaking of the world (again) in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic™! Blizzard Entertainment’s third World of Warcraft expansion, originally released in December 2010, returns with faster content cadence, improvements to leveling, expanded Collections UI, a new difficulty level for Dungeon Group Finder after launch, and more!
- Two heads are better than one in Hearthstone® Battlegrounds Duos, an exciting and truly collaborative way to play coming to the popular game mode in 2024. Two players can partner up and strategize together, sharing cards, health, and resources as they work with special Duos cards and synergies to take the crown together!
- With a campaign that continues the dark tale that began in Diablo® IV, Vessel of Hatred ™ brings players back to learn the fate of the prime evil Mephisto and his demonic plans for Sanctuary. Travel to the lush jungles known by the locals as Nahantu and explore fresh ways to play, with a completely new Class never seen before in the Diablo universe. Vessel of Hatred will be released in late 2024, with more details to be shared next summer.
- Players have a lot more to look forward to this year in Season of Blood, with more end-game experiences and the Midwinter Blight holiday event announced to come before the season concludes.
- Mauga is coming to Overwatch® 2 as the game’s newest tank hero! Players can experience this new hero during a limited-time trial this weekend before his release in Season 8. The Overwatch team also revealed there’s much more to come, including the brand-new Clash PvP game mode where players will visit the new Hanaoka map, inspired by an original fan favorite, Hanamura.
BlizzCon 2023 is a two-day event, broadcast live from the Anaheim Convention Center on both YouTube and Twitch, with in-person activations and activities that bring developers and players together to celebrate gaming communities across all of Blizzard’s major IP.
Other news of note.
Deathwing the Destroyer will soon return to Azeroth, leaving a festering wound across the continents that will forever change the landscapes of the world. As announced from the BlizzCon Opening Ceremony, World of Warcraft’s third fiery expansion, Cataclysm Classic, will usher in a new era for WoW Classic with an improved leveling experience, new dungeon difficulty system, and more!
Cataclysm Classic will launch in 2024 and comes with slew of new content and a few quality-of-life changes including:
- New Level Cap: 85
- New Races: Worgen & Goblin
- Play as the enigmatic and fierce Worgen, cursed citizens of Gilneas who have tamed their wild instincts as they seek allies in the Alliance.
- Aid the shipwrecked Bilgewater Cartel Goblins as they seen a new home in the Horde in the wake of Deathwing’s destruction of their island nation.
- New Profession: Archeology
- Archaeology allows players to explore digsites across Azeroth to learn more about the history of the world’s storied races while earning rewards in the process.
- A little bit of modernization:
- A limited number of features will be new to Cataclysm Classic that were not originally available when the expansion first launched in 2010:
- Increased and streamlined leveling: with a faster cadence for content updates, leveling speeds will be adjusted to give players the ability to jump into the new expansion quicker.
- Expanded collections UI: first introduced in Wrath Classic, that will enable account-wide management of the new transmogrification system.
- Dungeon difficulty modifiers: The Titan Rune dungeon system introduced in Wrath Classic will return to provide new challenges for dungeon runners.
- Optional bundles to celebrate Deathwing’s return
- Two new bundles will be available starting today for Classic players who wish to commemorate the return of the fallen Earth-warder:
- Blazing Heroic Pack, $30 USD: includes a flying Ragnaros mount and Lil’ Wrathion pet, both usable in the modern game and Classic, and a twilight cultist transmog set and goblin town toy, both unique to Classic.
- Blazing Epic Upgrade, $80 USD: all items included in the Heroic pack, plus a level 80 boost (with catch-up gear, bags, and a small amount of gold) and 30 days of game time.
For more information on Cataclysm Classic, be sure to check out the World of Warcraft website.
Azeroth has long been a world of possibility, filled with dangerous enemies, lands to explore, and denizens to aid. World of Warcraft Classic invites players to return to Azeroth once again and begin a new journey…with a twist. In Season of Discovery, which was just announced at BlizzCon and goes live on November 30, players will start a fresh adventure where exploration and experimentation will be key to unlocking new abilities and playstyles for their characters.
Season of Discovery, accessible on the Classic Era realms, will come loaded with new features and unique rulesets that include:
- RUNES
- Throughout the world, players will need to discover special runes that will provide access to new abilities, some that have never been available to classes in WoW Classic.
- RUNE-ENGRAVING
- Players will be able to apply a limited number of runes via rune-engraving, which also allows players to swap out abilities when not in combat to encourage experimentation.
- Incremental Level Cap Increases
- Season of Discovery will start with a cap of level 25 and will be increased over time to offer a more progressive endgame experience at each level band.
- Classic Dungeons Reimagined
- Each phase’s level cap will provide new content for players to experience, starting with the level 25 Blackfathom Deeps 10-man raid: formerly a level-up 5-player dungeon, it has been reworked with redesigned boss encounters to offer exciting challenges that will put players’ builds to the test.
- World PvP Events
- In addition to new raids, each level band’s cap zone will host some world PvP events for players to test their new abilities against others. The level 25 PvP zone to start will be in Ashenvale.
Today at BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard Entertainment announced The Worldsoul Saga™, featuring three upcoming expansions for the critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft®. Players will begin their adventure deep beneath the surface in the World of Warcraft: The War Within™ expansion, slated for release in 2024. World of Warcraft: Midnight™ and World of Warcraft: The Last Titan™ will round out a three-part saga that calls players home to save Azeroth.
“Beginning with The War Within, The Worldsoul Saga ™ is grown from the seeds of what captured the hearts of players around the world when they first set foot in Azeroth,” said World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale. “For veteran players, the last 20 years have led to this, and for those who have never set foot in Azeroth, this is a whole new adventure.”
“The War Within, Midnight, and The Last Titan encompass one of the most ambitious creative endeavors ever attempted for World of Warcraft, designed as standalone narratives that feed into an overall story arc,” said Warcraft general manager John Hight. “Alongside these epic adventures, the ongoing quality-of-life feature updates players have come to expect from us since Dragonflight will continue in The War Within, further setting us up for the next 20 years and beyond,”
“As we begin a new era at Blizzard Entertainment, I am inspired by the World of Warcraft teams’ passion for players and their expansive vision for the future of their storytelling,” said president of Blizzard Entertainment Mike Ybarra. “The legacy of World of Warcraft spans generations, and the beginning of The Worldsoul Saga is the perfect time for anyone who has memories of this legendary universe to celebrate, rediscover, and come home to Azeroth.”
The War Within begins with an ancient civilization rising to power deep beneath the surface of the planet, as heroes of both the Alliance and Horde alike are bombarded with visions—some are of the Light, while others see an alternate, darker fate.
World of Warcraft: The War Within Features
While players embark on the first chapter of The Worldsoul Saga and journey to a new level cap of 80, they will encounter new zones, dungeons, and raids, and more:
- Explore the new continent of Khaz Algar: Off the western shores of Kalimdor lies The Isle of Dorn, a new hub for both the Horde and Alliance. Begin to explore what dwells beneath the surface in the lava-fuelled forge of The Ringing Deeps, the lush Hallowfall, and the pinnacle of Nerubian society, Azj-Kahet.
- New Playable Allied Race – the Earthen: Players will meet and unlock this Titan-forged race who have made Khaz Algar their home, with their own unique civilization and culture.
- Expand your Warcraft fantasy with Hero Talents: A new level of class specialization customization, Hero Talents are modelled after well-known archetypes from the Warcraft universe, including Dark Ranger, Farseer, and more.
- Delves: New bite-size adventures seamlessly integrated into the world, which flexibly scale to support 1-5 players, and offer meaningful progression.
- Warbands: A quality-of-life feature for players with multiple characters, Warbands allow banks, reputations, transmogs, and more to be shared across all player characters.
Pre-purchase Options
World of Warcraft: The War Within is available for digital pre-purchase today on the Battle.net shop:
- The War Within: Base Edition – $49.99 USD
- Pre-purchase of World of Warcraft: The War Within
- Access to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight*
- Enhanced Level 70 character boost, allowing players to jump immediately into the upcoming content update for Dragonflight, Guardians of the Dream.
- 500 Trader’s Tender
- The War Within: Heroic Edition – $69.99 USD
- All Base Edition features
- Algarian Stormrider mount and access to special dynamic-flying racecourses
- Upgradable Stormrider’s Attire transmog set
- An additional 250 Trader’s Tender, for a total of 750
- The War Within: Epic Edition – $89.99 USD
- All Base and Heroic Edition features
- Beta access to World of Warcraft: The War Within**
- Early access, minimum of three days before the expansion’s launch***
- Squally the Storm Hatchling pet
- Sandbox Storm Gryphon toy
- An additional 250 Trader’s Tender, for a total of 1,000
- 30-day subscription time
Warcraft Rumble is now live! As people pack into taverns across Azeroth for their first go on the mysterious new machine, players throughout our own world can download and play Warcraft Rumble starting right today!
The first Warcraft-game built from the ground up for mobile puts a lovingly irreverent spin on the legendary Warcraft universe. Brought to life by Arclight energy, miniature versions of Azeroth’s famous (and infamous) heroes, villains and creatures are yours to command across legendary locations from the earliest days of World of Warcraft.
With over 65 minis to collect, and more than 70 locations and bosses to test your mettle against, Warcraft Rumble has you building and commanding your very own armies to take on a variety of game modes, from a continent spanning PvE campaign, to solo dungeons, quests, PvP and even a Heroic campaign!
And there’s even more to come in the future. The first season of Warcraft Rumble is live, and with it our first new leader – Sylvanas herself. Over the next few months and beyond, we’ll be adding new minis, zones, features and even dungeons! As if that wasn’t enough, next year we’ll be introducing perhaps the biggest challenge in all of Warcraft Rumble with the release of our first raid – Molten Core.
For more on Warcraft Rumble, be sure to tune into our Warcraft Rumblings panel today at 5:30 pm PDT, and of course, take a look (or a second, third or fourth look) at the showdown between Jaina and Onyxia in our launch cinematic!
