After last year’s COVID-related cancellation of Blizzcon, Blizzard is back with an online-only event of their yearly showcase. For most Blizzard fans, the true joy of the show is going to panels and meeting likeminded Blizzard fans cosplaying their favorite characters more than just the announcements. Still, Blizzard usually comes prepared with a few new announcements every year, even if they’re not always well-received.
This year, Blizzard has a number of announced projects primed for updates — such as Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, and Diablo Immortal — as well as a few new reveals for old and new fans alike. If you didn’t get the chance to catch the show live, we have a quick summary for you to check out.
- Diablo II is reborn as Diablo II Resurrected, with the heavy lifting on development being done by Vicarious Visions. You can check out more details and a first trailer here.
- A new job class has been revealed for Diablo IV, the next mainline game in the series. The death-defying Rogue made an appearance in a kind of gross CG trailer about ears.
- World of Warcraft Classic is getting a Burning Crusade expansion because time is a flat circle.
- The most recent WoW expansion, Shadowlands, is getting a 9.1 patch with a new dungeon and a 10-boss raid to keep people busy. This is all wrapped up in a major content update called Chains of Domination.
- Blizzard is giving away pets for a charity fund, a gorilla and a sloth, and I am crushingly disappointed to find out they are only virtual.
- Hearthstone begins the Year of the Griffin, which includes Hearthstone Classic, new expansions, and a team-based mode called Mercenaries.
- No one said the words “Hong Kong” in the last calendar year in front of J. Allen Brack so he no longer looks scared to death on stage in the face of mild protest.
- There was nothing on Overwatch 2, which makes the quixotic nature of that game’s announcement all the more confusing.
- An enhanced collection of Blizzard’s 16-bit games such as Rock N Roll Racing, The Lost Vikings, and Blackthorne is coming to all current-gen platforms, complete with new features, museum content, the original music, and new translations, in the Blizzard Arcade Collection. It is out today for people eager to control vikings without Assassin’s Creed parkour.
With the first virtual Blizzcon in the can, Blizzard looks to come off the reputation from Warcraft III: Reforged with a fuller remake for Diablo II and exciting upcoming projects. It’s a hopeful sign that Blizzard can continue to satisfy the audience that loves them enough to attend Blizzcons in the first place.
