Blizzard has had a busy day. They dropped onto the Opening Night Live stage to show off what’s coming soon, and announced a cool collaboration with SteelSeries. With all that’s coming, it’s a great day to be an Overwatch, Diablo, or World of Warcraft fan. Check it all out below.
Johanna Faries, President of Blizzard Entertainment®, took to the Opening Night Live stage to celebrate Warcraft’s 30th Anniversary ahead of early access for The War Within™, Overwatch® 2’s in-game World of Warcraft collaboration coming in September, and to reveal the chilling cinematic for the Mercenary companions joining players in Diablo® IV: Vessel of Hatred™.
“This is an incredible moment for Blizzard: our teams are launching World of Warcraft: The War Within in just a few days during this massive year of Warcraft milestones, expanding the world of Sanctuary in October with Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, and are continuing to deliver inspired new content and collaborations in Overwatch 2,” said Johanna Faries, President of Blizzard Entertainment. “We are thrilled to be representing the work of so many of our colleagues, and to be celebrating here at gamescom alongside our amazing communities.”
Additional Opening Night Live and gamescom highlights from Blizzard include:
- The global release of World of Warcraft®: The War Within™ on August 26, with early access beginning August 22 at 3 pm PDT/August 23 at midnight CET.
- The first ever Warcraft Direct will be towards the end of the year, where teams will share more about what’s coming in the future.
- In-game events celebrating World of Warcraft’s 20th anniversary will begin at the end of October, allowing players to explore the history of Azeroth while earning rewards.
- With the power of VR, attendees will be able to experience the thrill of skyriding, soaring through Dalaran, and experiencing an invasion of the fabled city firsthand in an immersive experience located on the show floor.
- To celebrate Warcraft’s 30th anniversary, Overwatch® 2 unveiled the first new skin for Widowmaker, who embraces her allegiance to the Horde as Sylvanas Windrunner this September.
- On the show floor, Overwatch® 2 will be in a joint stand with Porsche, highlighting their collaboration with a life-sized D.Va statue modeled after the new all-electric Macan and inviting fans to enter a real-life rendition of an iconic map.
- Brent Gibson, game director for Diablo® IV: Vessel of Hatred™joined Johanna on stage to showcase the Mercenaries Reveal trailer, highlighting the latest feature coming to the expansion on October 8.
- Watch the Mercenaries Reveal trailer here:
Vessel of Hatred™ brings new ways to play:
- Mercenaries – ordinary people with extraordinary skills, available to fight alongside players
- The Kurast Undercity – a new multistage dungeon
- The Dark Citadel – a new co-op PvE dungeon.
What Blizzard shared is just a slice of what’s in store for players at gamescom. Look out for more details in the Xbox broadcast tomorrow, August 21 at 6 am PST / 9am EST / 2pm BST / 3pm CEST.
Stay tuned to GamingTrend for more Blizzard news and info!
David Burdette is a gamer/writer/content creator from TN and Lead Editor for Gaming Trend. He loves Playstation, Star Wars, Marvel, and many other fandoms. He also plays way too much Call Of Duty. You can chat with him on Twitter @SplitEnd89.
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