Storm’s End: Everything that went down at Blizzcon 2023

If the last in-person Blizzcon – held in 2019 – delivered the goods for Diablo fans, its 2023 counterpart was a double-down on the hordes of Warcraft fans who have stuck by the company for almost twenty years, some of which have been particularly rocky for both those who work at the company and the communities that orbit it.

In any case, Blizzard’s first in-person Blizzcon in four years gave fans of everything except Starcraft plenty to chew on here. Here are the highlights.

With the closing of the Activision-Blizzard acquisition by Microsoft several weeks ago, Blizzard Entertainment is now part of the wider Xbox Game Studios lineup. Naturally, Microsoft CEO for gaming Phil Spencer was on-hand at the opening ceremony of the event to talk up the future of the studio.

Spencer reiterated Xbox’s commitment to bring more great games to more players in more places. However, no announcements were made when it comes to if, how or when the Blizzard catalog might make it onto Xbox Games Pass.

Overwatch 2 is getting bigger in a big way with the impending arrival of Mauga. Shown off at the Blizzcon Opening Ceremony, the new tank champion features two chainguns, infinite ammo and a bagful of abilities that promise to reward players for doubling down on aggression. He’s got a passive that generates temporary health whenever critical damage is dealt, a charge ability that’s immune to the many crowd control abilities in the game and an ultimate that allows him to corner a foe for a cage match where healing isn’t allowed. 

While Mauga won’t be formally joining the roster until Season 8 of Overwatch 2 kicks off on 5 December 2023, those who jump in for this weekend’s free trial promotion will have the chance to test-drive the character before.

Blizzard also teased some of what’s coming to Overwatch 2 in 2024, including three new playable heroes, a new mode called Clash, a redesigned version of Hanamura called Hanaora and a rebalanced competitive ranking system.

The launch version of Diablo 4 was popular with fans, even if it wasn't quite perfect. It's no surprise that Blizzard has already put a ton of work into responding to fan feedback for the game and that more is on the way. Those hungry for more or left unsatisfied by the seasonal content to date now have something to look forward to in the form of Vessel of Hatred, the ARPG’s first proper expansion pack.

As the name suggests, Vessel of Hatred will see players pick up the trail of Mephisto. The expansion will round out the southern section of the map introduced in Diablo 4 through the introduction of Nahantu. There will also be a new playable class. Blizzard is saving the reveal of what that class is for a later date, however it did confirm it would be one never before seen in the Diablo universe. The developer also didn’t have much to share when it came to the question of whether or if Vessel of Hatred would bring with it new mechanics like hireable companions. 

Expect answers to those questions – and the expansion itself – to come in 2024.

While the next expansion set  for Hearthstone – Showdown in the Badlands – is only a few weeks away, it’s not the only thing on the horizon for Blizzard’s card battler. 

Hearthstone is also getting a new variant of Battlegrounds that allows two players to queue and play together cooperatively. Both players share a health pool and are able to trade cards back and forth. This mode will feature a different card pool than the standard Battleground mode and isn’t expected to launch until early next year.

Cataclysm, World of Warcraft’s third expansion, is getting a face-lift. 

Where longtime players tend to regard The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King with a degree of reverence, Cataclysm is a little bit less of a fan favorite. Given that, it’s not a huge shock that Blizzard’s remaster of the expansion will feature a number of modernisations and tweaks. Some of these include a revamped leveling experience, a faster content cadence, expanded Collections UI and new dungeon difficulty levels. 

The new expansion will also launch with hardcore mode and introduce a new self found mode for solo players coming at a later date.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic is due for release sometime in 2024.

The existing version of World of Warcraft: Classic is also getting a new seasonal mode, which begins with the Season of Discovery on 30 November 2023. This fresh spin on the throwback experience will introduce new game-breaking Runes, redesigned raids and a staggered level cap that changes every few months.

Going into this year’s Blizzcon, a new expansion for World of Warcraft seemed like a safe bet. It’s been almost two years since the last one and the game’s twentieth anniversary is next year. 

However, as Blizzard’s executive creative director for Warcraft Chris Metzen – who left the company in 2016 and returned in 2022 –  ascended the stage to thunderous applause (and even a few standing ovations), it quickly became clear that the developer had something different in mind for longtime fans attending this year’s show.

Instead of announcing one new expansion for World of Warcraft, Blizzard announced three. Tied together under the MCU-like branding of The Worldsoul Saga, this trilogy begins with next year’s World of Warcraft: The War Within. 

The War Within will begin to tie together threads from across the last two decades of Warcraft lore as classic characters like Thrall and Anduin are drawn into conflict with ancient adversaries lurking below the surface of Azeroth. Due in 2024, the expansion will also introduce new hero talents, the Earthen allied race, a new delve dungeon experience and a feature called Warbands that allows you to easily share items and reputation progress across multiple characters.

World of Warcraft: The War Within will be followed by World of Warcraft: Midnight. Metzen had less to share about this second expansion in the Worldsoul trilogy, but did disclose that it would center on the region of Quel’Thalas and task players with reunifying the scattered Elven factions in the game. Last but not least, World of Warcraft: The Last Titan will see players return to Northrend and uncover a conspiracy that stretches across Azeroth and reveals new truths about the nature of the world itself.

There’s no timeline yet on when World of Warcraft: Midnight and World of Warcraft: The Last Titan will arrive, but Metzen did make comments that gestured towards a faster release schedule than that of previous expansion packs for the game.