Update: And we're done. The headlines: Heroes of the Storm gets a new arena mode; Hearthstone gets a new Adventure next week; Overwatch is out next spring, for PC and consoles, and it's not free-to-play. We also saw a new trailer for World of Warcraft: Legion, and the first trailer for the Warcraft movie, and, well, guess which looked better?
Original story: Blizzard's big bash begins this evening, and the game company's fans expect blockbuster news.
Overwatch, its new team-based shooter, looks set to see its console version announced. But various recent leaks tell us much of what we need to know: Overwatch: Origins Edition is due out on PC, PS4 and Xbox One spring 2016.
Then onto card video game Hearthstone. Will Blizzard announce a new expansion? I'm going with a ninja theme. Ninjas are awesome.
As for sci-fi real-time strategy game StarCraft 2, its final expansion, Legacy of the Void, is due out on 10th November, so I doubt we'll see big news there.
I have higher hopes for World of Warcraft, though. How about a release date for upcoming expansion Legion? You bet. And, finally, a trailer for the movie. Oh yes.
Heroes of the Storm could do with a bit of a push, so perhaps Blizzard will announce a new round of heroes and maps for its MOBA.
What else? Blizzard may mention a new expansion for Diablo 3, but I reckon it's a bit early for that. Meanwhile, maybe the company will talk more about plans to revitalise its older games, such as RTS Warcraft 3. A remake would, I'm sure, bring the house down.
Join us from 7pm this evening, or a bit earlier if you fancy getting stuck into the comments with some healthy speculation, for Eurogamer's BlizzCon 2015 live report. Our very own Chris Bratt is on the ground in California to add colour to what promises to be a lively opening ceremony. Stay tuned!
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
14:44 pm UTC Hello! I'm in Anaheim for Blizzcon and I've also been awake since 4AM, which tells me I'm not quite over the jetlag. Chris Bratt 14:45 pm UTC Or maybe, I'm just really excited about that Warcraft trailer... Chris Bratt 14:52 pm UTC My hotel has been taken over by Blizzard fans, which is rather nice. A lot of them are wearing Overwatch hoodies too - there's a real buzz surrounding that game. Chris Bratt 14:53 pm UTC Mustn't spend all of my dollars on merch. Mustn't do that. Chris Bratt 15:17 pm UTC Chris Bratt 15:18 pm UTC There's a picture of this year's pass, if that's what you're into. It's what I'm into. Chris Bratt 15:22 pm UTC Hang on. Is it just me, or does Tracer's artwork look a little off there? Chris Bratt 15:22 pm UTC Chris Bratt 15:23 pm UTC Oh gosh, I'm turning into THAT kind of Blizzard fan. Chris Bratt 15:27 pm UTCckyman2: "Due to fire regulations, access to certain panel discussions, presentations, and performances that occur during BlizzCon will be limited to the maximum capacity of the particular hall and will be on a first-come first-served basis. If an area has reached its capacity, you may not be granted reentry after exiting" Better get a move on Chris /chuckle
If I don't manage to finally watch a World of Warcraft panel in person, I think I might have a little cry. To Blizzcon!
Chris Bratt 17:37 pm UTC Whoops! It seems Blizzard streamed a rehearsal for the Heroes of the Storm panel to virtual ticket holders - presumably by mistake. Spoilers on Reddit. Oli Welsh 18:13 pm UTC Chris Bratt 18:14 pm UTC And the doors have opened! I've managed to fight my way through a sea of Blizzard fans and nab a seat in the press area. Chris Bratt 18:19 pm UTC Blizzcon scoop: The music is quite intense. Chris Bratt 18:25 pm UTC I feel like I'm getting ready to fight in a war. With some orcs. Chris Bratt 18:28 pm UTC Chris Bratt 18:31 pm UTC I tried to get a bit artsy with that one - please ignore the huge amount of screen glare. Chris Bratt 18:32 pm UTC Let's pretend it's fel energy or something, yeah? Chris Bratt 18:36 pm UTC Real talk: who's looking forward to Linkin Park? Chris Bratt 18:54 pm UTC Somewhere backstage, fired up from Gamescom, Alex Afrasiabi runs through the notes of another 20 minute Legion lore bomb... John Bedford 19:03 pm UTC Martin's just come online. "IS THIS STARCRAFT 3???!!!?!?!?!" He doesn't know anything about Blizzard. Oli Welsh 19:03 pm UTC We're starting with some StarCraft hype. Legacy of the Void launches on Tuesday. Tuesday! Where did that come from. Oli Welsh 19:04 pm UTC Johnny: "Do you suppose blizzard employees get hair straighteners when they join?" Oli Welsh 19:04 pm UTC Mike's intro music... Wesley Yin-Poole 19:05 pm UTC This is my first time, Mike! Chris Bratt 19:05 pm UTC Lot of hype in the crowd for the unreleased Overwatch. Less immediately after for the actually released HotS. Awkward. John Bedford 19:05 pm UTC That's a cheap way to do an exit survey, Mike Wesley Yin-Poole 19:06 pm UTC I refer to this man as Gentleman Mike now, for reasons I can't disclose. Oli Welsh 19:06 pm UTC Hint: it's not to do with his taste for corporate bowling shirts. Oli Welsh 19:06 pm UTC Every year that remake tease. John Bedford 19:07 pm UTC And my battery is about to die, so I'll leave it to the rest of the team. Will try my very best not to run on stage and hug lovely Mike. Chris Bratt 19:07 pm UTC Just announce Warcraft 4 already! Wesley Yin-Poole 19:07 pm UTC That shirt is offending at least three of my five senses, Mike. Aoife Wilson 19:07 pm UTC Does Mike's shirt mean they're about to announce Blizzard Bowling? Martin Robinson 19:08 pm UTC "How many of you lost your significant other through Blizzard games?" John Bedford 19:08 pm UTC You shut up, Aoife. Chris Bratt 19:08 pm UTC I met my World of Warcraft clan in Dublin. My mate lost a tooth in a fight and threw up in my sister's room Wesley Yin-Poole 19:09 pm UTC MANA KITTY *all cynicism evaporates* Aoife Wilson 19:09 pm UTC MANA KITTY *cynicism increases hundredfold* Johnny Chiodini 19:09 pm UTC Patch 2.4 gets a cheer. This must be BlizzCon Wesley Yin-Poole 19:10 pm UTC I love that little foam WOW quest marker someone's brought with them. John Bedford 19:11 pm UTC Blizzard's cinematics are amazing. They should make a movie or something. Wesley Yin-Poole 19:12 pm UTC I haven't touched SCII in maybe three years. Growing worryingly nostalgic, watching this. Johnny Chiodini 19:12 pm UTC Wes, they produce about four minutes of footage a year. I don't think it would work out. Oli Welsh 19:13 pm UTC Kerrigan is such a babe. Serving badass Queen of Blades realness. Aoife Wilson 19:15 pm UTC Money packs! John Bedford 19:15 pm UTC What is this? I don't know what this is? WHAT IS THIS? Wesley Yin-Poole 19:15 pm UTC I only came here for a Rock n' Roll Racing sequel announce. Don't let me down Blizzard. Martin Robinson 19:16 pm UTC Oh, it's just three new missions next year. For a second there... remember StarCraft Ghost? Wesley Yin-Poole 19:16 pm UTC Right, so they're doing mini DLC mission packs instead of further major expansions. Interesting. Oli Welsh 19:17 pm UTC I beat Trump at Hearthstone once. Have I mentioned? Wesley Yin-Poole 19:18 pm UTC WOW Arena is like the water polo of eSports. Just not very cool. Oli Welsh 19:20 pm UTC Those guys? OMG John Bedford 19:20 pm UTCPo1ymorph: @Wesley Yin-Poole Donald Trump? I didn't know he played.
HOW DARE YOU
Wesley Yin-Poole 19:20 pm UTC I beat Daniel Negreanu at poker once. Have I mentioned? Johnny Chiodini 19:21 pm UTC Shout out to Wesley Crusher. We Wesleys need to stick together Wesley Yin-Poole 19:21 pm UTC WARCRAFT MOVIE EVERYBODY SHUSH Aoife Wilson 19:22 pm UTC Is this it? Is this the trailer? John Bedford 19:22 pm UTC I've told Chris Bratt that if he doesn't get an interview with Linkin Park, he shouldn't bother coming home. Watch this space! Johnny Chiodini 19:22 pm UTC Warcraft trailer hype come on!!! Wesley Yin-Poole 19:23 pm UTC Did Duncan print that t-shirt himself? Aoife Wilson 19:23 pm UTC We have a report from behind the scenes of the Warcraft film hitting the site very shortly after this. Martin Robinson 19:23 pm UTC Once Duncan's kind enough to give us some assets. Martin Robinson 19:23 pm UTC Every ounce of cynicism I had about the Warcraft movie has evaporated over the last week. John Bedford 19:24 pm UTC JUST SHOW THE BLOODY TRAILER Wesley Yin-Poole 19:24 pm UTC Should a movie's director need to check a piece of paper to reel off the names of his film's cast? Tom Phillips 19:25 pm UTC Wonder how much those actors got paid just to stand on a stage for 20 seconds. Aoife Wilson 19:25 pm UTC Ragnar Lothbrook looking hench. Johnny Chiodini 19:26 pm UTC (Anyone? Vikings? No?) Johnny Chiodini 19:27 pm UTC Still not sure about the CGI in this. The actors look like they have a glow around them against the backdrops. John Bedford 19:27 pm UTC Those eagles at the end, they can just use them to drop the ring in the fire, right? Tom Phillips 19:27 pm UTC I'm not sure what to think about the Warcraft trailer. As an ex-WOW players, it's just, kind of, odd? Wesley Yin-Poole 19:27 pm UTC This guy has no chill. Aoife Wilson 19:28 pm UTC That was... less exciting than the teaser. I'm starting to understand why the movie studio is unsure what to do with it. Oli Welsh 19:28 pm UTC Heroes of the only as good as your weakest link and that guy is going to ruin your life. John Bedford 19:29 pm UTC Oooh new game mode for Heroes of the Storm. John Bedford 19:30 pm UTC I wonder if they wish they'd gone with this from the off. John Bedford 19:30 pm UTC Dustin Browder is a stone lighter every time I see him. Oli Welsh 19:32 pm UTC Cynicism aside the new HotS mode would be amazing for learning Hero counters. John Bedford 19:33 pm UTC Was that the Headless Horseman from WOW's Hallow's End event? John Bedford 19:33 pm UTC Team Rocket's lawyers want a word. Aoife Wilson 19:34 pm UTC "For free" John Bedford 19:35 pm UTC Anyone else hear virtual ticket sales hitting the roof? If not, I think someone's breaking in to the Eurogamer office. Johnny Chiodini 19:35 pm UTC Haha, a viral character. That's a nice idea. Oli Welsh 19:37 pm UTC HOLD ME ERIC! John Bedford 19:37 pm UTC You mean your mother-in-law doesn't play Heroes of the Storm? Tom Phillips 19:38 pm UTC New Hearthstone adventure! Tom Phillips 19:38 pm UTC New Hearthstone Adventure. Now we're talking. John Bedford 19:39 pm UTC Harrison Jones themed Adventure? John Bedford 19:39 pm UTC mflfghfghfghfghgh Tom Phillips 19:40 pm UTC This dude has got his t-shirt tucked in. That's it, I'm out. Martin Robinson 19:40 pm UTCytzulu: Ah Jurgen Klopp
Oh god you're right...
Wesley Yin-Poole 19:43 pm UTC Discover seems to be another push for added randomness in Hearthstone albeit with a little more structure - the cards it digs up are appropriate to your deck. Tom Phillips 19:44 pm UTC Please stop saying golden monkey. Johnny Chiodini 19:44 pm UTC Interesting card but it might well end up another Mimiron's Head - too many stages to pass through to get the result. John Bedford 19:45 pm UTC Golden monkey. Tom Phillips 19:46 pm UTC TOM Johnny Chiodini 19:48 pm UTC What John said, although it seems to have a vastly better reward to setting it up. You'll see decks engineered to getting access to it as fast as possible with trash cards that will then get replaced when it comes into play. Tom Phillips 19:48 pm UTC I *LOVE* Jeff Kaplan. The man was the creative director of World of Warcraft when it was at its best. He's also just a really smart designer and lovely man. Oli Welsh 19:48 pm UTC That's Golden Monkey by the way. Johnny. Tom Phillips 19:49 pm UTC I just wish Overwatch had a PVE mode. Make my dreams come true Jeff. Oli Welsh 19:54 pm UTC The character art in this game is just so good. Oli Welsh 19:55 pm UTC "When you buy Overwatch you get all 21 heroes." Not free-to-play, confirmed. Oli Welsh 19:59 pm UTC *Cross-pollination klaxon* Johnny Chiodini 19:59 pm UTC Overwatch coming to consoles. Iiiinteresting. Aoife Wilson 20:00 pm UTC Who'd have thought! Tom Phillips 20:01 pm UTC The base PC digital edition is £30, the origins edition is £45, the collector's edition... isn't priced. Oli Welsh 20:01 pm UTC "Expected game release on or before 6/21/16", was what the small text said there. Tom Phillips 20:03 pm UTC I wonder how much Chris Metzen can bench-press. I bet it's a lot. Johnny Chiodini 20:03 pm UTCKremlik: Pre-order now just popped up on the livestream.. Advertising!
Happened to me too. Weird and also slick.
Johnny Chiodini 20:04 pm UTC I liked it better when he was roaring. Tom Phillips 20:05 pm UTC Chris Metzen is a dude. He is really like this in real life. His office is full of Marvel character statues. His favourite is Captain America. Oli Welsh 20:05 pm UTC Also, the man can talk. Oli Welsh 20:07 pm UTC /sleep Aoife Wilson 20:08 pm UTC Why do they insist on explaining lore on stage. Why? Oh that's right, because Chris writes the stories and Chris gets what Chris wants. Oli Welsh 20:08 pm UTC Guess who's back? Back again. Illidan's back. Tell a friend. Aoife Wilson 20:09 pm UTC *CINEMATIC KLAXON* Aoife Wilson 20:09 pm UTC Are they really going to leave Diablo 3 on the naughty step? But it's my favourite! Oli Welsh 20:10 pm UTC I can't.....I just can't play another WOW expansion. Oh I can can't I? John Bedford 20:11 pm UTC I'm not even kidding myself. John Bedford 20:12 pm UTC I'm Sylvannas. Aoife Wilson 20:14 pm UTC RIP Diablo. John Bedford 20:16 pm UTC And we're done. No single massive reveal, but a big slate of new stuff; Overwatch is looking cracking, and it's out soonish; the Warcraft movie is... a bit weird; and nobody loves Diablo 3. Boo hoo. I now start the long, lonely wait for Diablo 4. Oli Welsh 20:17 pm UTC Anyway, thanks for joining us! We'll have more from BlizzCon soon, including Chris B reporting from the show floor. Stay tuned. Oli Welsh 21:11 pm UTC We visited the set for the Warcraft movie a whole year and a half ago. We can finally tell you about it (the movie business is weird). Read our report on a day in real-life Azeroth. Oli Welsh Load more comments Loading
