Blizzard Entertainment today kicked off the first day of its wholly online, BlizzConline 2021 with a ton of new and exciting releases (and releases) for attendees/viewers.
Here’s the rundown of everything that was announced during the opening ceremony of BlizzConline 2021.
- Diablo II: Resurrected – Diablo II is one of those games that deserves the title as a classic. I personally sunk way more time, money (cause of renting PC time to play the game), and floppy disks. It would come along with the Lord of Destruction expansion and will be made available not just on the PC, but also on consoles (Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5|4) as well. You can in fact apply for the technical alpha here
- Rogue: Diablo IV – The Rogue class for the newest Diablo sequel has been unveiled. It came along with a very dark cinematic trailer which can be seen below. The trailer also shows gameplay footage of the class which pretty much sticks true to the original perception and gameplay of the rogue class in previous Diablo titles. Check out the Diablo IV website right here.
- Year of the Gryphon: Hearthstone – The newest year for the Blizzard collectible card game Hearthstone, the Year of the Gryphon. In the coming weeks, the new HS year will feature a new core set of cards designed to shake up the game. And the introduction of the classic format. As I already reported here.
- Forged in the Barrens Expansion: Hearthstone – Also coinciding with the Year of the Gryphon is the first Hearthstone expansion of 2021, Forged in the Barrens, inspired by the iconic World of Warcraft locale where millions of adventurers began forging their legends—available for prepurchase here.
- Hearthstone Mercenaries, a single-player and competitive game mode in which players collect mighty characters from the Warcraft universe and level them up in tactical battles.
- Chains of Domination Content Update: World of Warcraft – The first major content update for World of Warcraft, was also announced later this year. The first content update for the Shadowlands expansion, as well as an all-new charity pet program that will yield two separate pets—Bananas the monkey and Daisy the sloth—for all modern WoW players once donation goals are met. Blizzard also revealed Burning Crusade Classic, an authentic recreation of the acclaimed first World of Warcraft expansion—also coming later this year, and included in players’ existing World of Warcraft subscription at no additional cost.
- Blizzard Arcade Collection – Now included as part of Blizzard’s anniversary-themed Celebration Collection on Windows PC (via Battle.net), as part of The Blizzard 30-Year Celebration Collection on consoles, or as a standalone game on consoles, the Blizzard Arcade Collection is a digital set of Blizzard’s original console hits, The Lost Vikings, Rock N Roll Racing, and Blackthorne, enhanced for modern platforms.
Over the next few hours today and starting again at 04:00 AM GMT+8 tomorrow, six channels of programming will feature deeper dives on Blizzard’s franchises, including a behind-the-scenes look at the ongoing development of Overwatch 2, the company’s highly anticipated sequel to its blockbuster team-based shooter, and Diablo Immortal, its upcoming mobile massively multiplayer online action-RPG. (Of note, Blizzard recently completed its first stage of regional testing on Diablo Immortal, receiving an enthusiastic response from testers, and will be rolling out further tests in the coming months. The game has also recently received publishing approval for release in China.) Viewers will also be treated to one-of-a-kind esports show matches—with legendary StarCraft and StarCraft II pros facing off, as well as a battle between reigning Overwatch League champions, the San Francisco Shock, and a dream team comprising pros, community figures, and more.
Channeling the spirit of the live show, BlizzConline will also put a huge spotlight on the creativity and skill of the people who help bring Blizzard’s games to life. There will be multiple segments featuring artists, musicians, voice actors, content creators, and streamers, as well as an epic showcase highlighting some of the talented cosplayers, storytellers, and other artists inhabiting the Blizzard community.
To learn more about BlizzConline and for a full schedule of events, visit here.