BlizzCon live coverage

So let's start shall we? Beginning with our predictions for this year's BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony. 

It's BlizzCon, and that really means one thing rather definitively: there will be talk about whatever expansion is coming next for World of Warcraft. Given that Dragonflight, the most recent expansion, released in November 2022, it seems to be almost a given that a new expansion will be announced this weekend with a snazzy new cinematic trailer. What that could be is anyone's guess at this point, however.

World of Warcraft remains one of the best MMOs ever, so it's always a bit exciting to see what's coming even if you don't actually currently play.

While it feels a bit early to be talking about any possible Diablo 4 expansions, it seems reasonable to assume that Blizzard will begin to address what Diablo 4 Season 3 looks like. Diablo 4 Season 2, Season of Blood, only just began a few weeks back, so there's still plenty to do and experience before the next season, but it always seems prudent to look at what's on the immediate horizon -- and January 2024 is going to be here sooner than one might realize.

Here's the bit where I'd normally predict we'd get a new hero revealed for Overwatch 2 -- another gimme -- but I don't really need to predict anything as... the new Overwatch 2 hero has seemingly leaked ahead of BlizzCon proper.

It would appear that BlizzCon will officially revealed Mauga, who is described as a "powerful brawling Tank Hero who will tear through the competition with his incendiary and volatile chainguns." Assuming Mauga really is the new Overwatch 2 hero, and all signs point to him definitely being the new Overwatch 2 hero, expect an explosive trailer in the near future.

The BlizzCon Opening Ceremony is nearly set to kick off, and the biggest question on everyone's lips seems to be whether the developer will finally pull back the curtain on the new open world survival game set in a fantasy universe that was first revealed back in early 2022.

There's basically been... nothing at all said about it since, though job listings and rumors have swirled. There's no clear place where the new game might fit in BlizzCon's packaged schedule, but there is a slightly odd pre-recorded segment that makes up the tail end of the opening ceremony. Maybe it fits in there?

Our own Josh West, UK Managing Editor, is in physical attendance at the BlizzCon Opening Ceremony. Here's what the view looks like from where he is. Lot of lights there, Josh.

Mike Ybarra, head of Blizzard, is very excited to be here at BlizzCon 2023 on the stage. I am excited for him. The people there are excited for him. But it's not... not awkward to listen to this patter.

"BlizzCon truly is about all of us," says Ybarra. "As players, as equals, as friends."

It's also about Blizzard Entertainment. Like, a fair amount. But that's me editorializing.

Ybarra welcomes Microsoft's Phil Spencer to the stage -- Spencer's first BlizzCon ever, according to him. Not terribly surprising given that Microsoft officially gobbled up Activision Blizzard just last month.

Spencer is saying that Microsoft and Xbox will be letting Blizzard do its thing. "The future of Blizzard is brighter than ever," says Spencer, "and you all have so much to look forward to in this show."

Ybarra back here to move into the actual meat of the show. He tries to take a moment to thank the Blizzard team, gets emotional, and the crowd cheers in response. "You are some of the most talented individuals on the planet," says Ybarra.

"Welcome to BlizzCon!" Thanks Mike; happy to be here. (I am required to be here by my job, but I am also happy.)

Overwatch game director Aaron Keller taking the stage after a second, Overwatch-focused hype package.

"Boy do we have some fun things to talk about," says Keller. Dion Rogers, Overwatch art director, now on stage.

Rogers talking about how the team loves to make new heroes. Circles around the fact that there's obviously been NO hints or leaks or anything. (Yeah, the new hero is actually Mauga, which leaked ahead of BlizzCon 2023.) Gameplay trailer shows off his abilities and massive chainguns. Looks like he really lives up to the "tank" designation.

12DOVE BlizzCon 2023 on-the-ground correspondent Josh West says the crowd is loving this Overwatch 2 stuff. And admittedly, the trailer is quite good. You can check it out below:

I recognize that there is going to be a lot of folks hyped for Overwatch esports (which is the focus as I write this) but, uh, this is not my thing. Of all the esports I've tried to watch, Overwatch has always felt the most difficult to visually parse. But maybe that's just me! Your mileage may vary.

And we are done with esports; Keller returns to the stage. "Mauga... is awesome," says Keller. Nice.

Keller teases more crossovers, but declines to give hints. Says that there's maybe "some things" coming that he can talk about.

"Who wants to see a few of the things we're working on for next year?"

Bunch of info real quick from Keller about upcoming stuff: Competitive system rework! Mauga is playable by everyone in Overwatch 2 as soon as the opening ceremony concludes! New Clash mode with reworked maps! New heroes!

And now, it is time for Diablo. Hype package! Get hyped. Are you hyped? I'm hyped.

Rod Fergusson, general manager of Diablo, takes the stage. Seems like Diablo 4 is coming first. "Having fun?" says Fergusson. Course I am, Rod. Course I am.

Fergusson going over the recent highlights of Diablo more broadly. Some... mixed reactions to the mention of Diablo Immortal. There's a much more enthusiastic response to the mention of Diablo 4.

Tiffany Wat and Chris Wilson, production directors for Diablo 4, take the stage together. They're here to talk about what's coming next. But first! Season 2 stuff: live now is the new end game boss ladder, level 100 is 40% faster in this season, increased item power, and more.

Some other changes and fixes. Malignant rings, new seasonal event on December 5 called Abattoir of Zir. Lot of proper nouns being thrown around here. First-ever holiday event, Midwinter Blight, starts December 12.

Diablo 4 Season 3! Wat says they can't talk about too much. But... new weekly leaderboards where the top of the crop get added to a seasonal board with name and build. Super early teaser for... something that's coming next.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is the first expansion for Diablo 4! Late 2024 release. Completely new class! Mephisto! Return to a beloved location!

And Warcraft is up! John Hight, general manager, takes the stage after a requisite hype package.

"Today is a great day for Warcraft," says Hight. Claims the bold new chapter for the next 30 years (somehow) is starting now. Competing shouts for the Alliance and Horde ring out, as is right and good.

Hight runs through all the usual suspects, including Hearthstone and new entrant Warcraft Rumble, before getting to World of Warcraft. Now I wonder how my blood elf mage I left somewhere in Cataclysm is doing...

Hearthstone lead designer Cora Georgiou takes the stage. Hearthstone is nearly 10, she says. Excuse me while I crumble to dust and blow away in a gentle breeze.

Next Hearthstone expansion, Showdown in the Badlands, up next. It takes place in "Azeroth's Wild West." That is certainly a set of words composed into a single sentence. It's also not a new announcement as it was previously revealed a couple of weeks back.

Showdown in the Badlands releases November 14. New "Catch-Up Packs" with 50 cards from the last two years of releases. All players will be able to open a couple; BlizzCon attendees get more. It sounds nice, but the energy of "we have a new type of microtransaction!" is also hard to deny.

New cooperative way to play Hearthstone called Battlegrounds Duos announced. Also, have another photo from 12DOVE BlizzCon 2023 on-the-ground correspondent Josh West:

Hearthstone done and dusted; Warcraft Rumble's up now. I'm going to be honest with you: I can only get so excited about a Warcraft mobile game, but if this is your kind of thing, more power to you. I will say, the trailer is fun, and the game is live now, so both are things in its favor.

"The difference in response between Diablo Immortal and WoW Rumble is kinda fascinating," says Josh West, 12DOVE BlizzCon 2023 on-the-ground correspondent. Thank you for that report. Josh.

Warcraft Rumble is getting raids and also Sylvanus. People keep yelling at the stage.

Holly Longdale up next for World of Warcraft! "You know, 2004 was awhile ago, right?" Sure was, Holly. Sure was.

"As many of you know, WoW Classic was born out of the community's passion," says Longdale. Big cheers; she's not wrong, it seems. She talks about the release of Hardcore in WoW Classic.

New way to play Hardcore being added early next year. This seems to mean... something.

And there it is: World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic is officially, really happening. This is where I stopped regularly playing, which is making this whole trailer extremely weird (and enjoyable) for me.

First half of next year for that. Nothing more definitive, which isn't exactly shocking, I suppose.

And another surprise: World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery. Weird mixups like mage healer. Level cap of 25 initially, new mechanics, reimagined bosses, new rewards. Regular level cap raises with new stuff. Neat!

That's out November 30, which is... very soon! But onto new content for World of Warcraft itself. Dragonflight epilogue raid and new content there. Talk of what comes next is coming up...

Big cheers as Chris Metzen is introduced and takes the stage to talk about what comes next for the franchise. "It's been a long time since Metzen has led a BlizzCon," says Josh West, 12DOVE BlizzCon 2023 on-the-ground correspondent. "Place is blowing up."

"What expansion hook, what single storyline could possibly match such a historic occasion?" says Metzen. Talks about the early ideas behind Warcraft and their mythic qualities, unresolved stories. Big, cosmic questions about things like titans and so on. He's quite good at this.

"A storyline, provided we do our jobs -- we do the thing -- that will vector us into the next 20 years of adventure," teases Metzen. "BlizzCon, are you with me, BlizzCon?" They are; I am.

They're calling it the Worldsoul Saga. Built to play out over multiple expansions "over the next few years."

"We're not going to get into it at this BlizzCon, forgive me," says Metzen when kicking the can on revealing significant details.

But! Blizzard is going to reveal a glimpse at the next three (yes, really) expansions instead of just one at a time.

The first expansion is World of Warcraft: The War Within. Metzen has once again dropped a bunch of proper nouns that people seemed very excited about.

Second "part" is World of Warcraft: Midnight. Returning to "the fabled lands of Quel'Thalas." Banishing shadows forever, protecting the Sunwell, all that good stuff.

World of Warcraft: The Last Titan is the final part of the Worldsoul Saga. Returning to the "old world" again. Return of the titans to Azeroth. Very exciting. Also there's apparently a vast conspiracy? One that will challenge everything you think you know about the titans, their intentions, and so on?

"We are playing for all the marbles," says Metzen.

"Our heroes Anduin and Thrall find themselves drawn together by a radiant vision emanating from within the heart of the world," the official description of the new cinematic trailer reads. "Find out what comes next in the opening chapter of The Worldsoul Saga story arc with the newest expansion World of Warcraft: The War Within: coming in 2024."

Details from Longdale now about The War Within. Apparently the visions being seen by certain characters are not all the same. New zones, locations, and more. A World of Warcraft expansion, you might say.

There's apparently a new feature in The War Within called "warbands" that lets players share features like banks and reputation among their various characters? Big cheers for that. New allied race of the earthen dwarves. "The facial hair options are spectacular," says Longdale.

Back to Ybarra being a little bit awkward to close things out, apparently. "Be great to each other, and enjoy the show," he concludes. Thanks, Mike. I will.

That looks to be it for the BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony! That certainly was a series of announcements, and some of them were even good! What a time to be alive.

First responses to The War Within seem to be pretty positive, with one notable exception: nobody wants to pay $90 to get three days worth of early access to the expansion. The word "disgusting" keeps going around.

Josh West here, live from BlizzCon 2023. Having spent a lot of this afternoon wrestling with the wi-fi (Blizzard weren't joking when they said downloads of Warcraft Rumble was going to bring it all crashing down during the opening ceremony) I think we should just take a second to appreciate how gorgeous the Diablo 4 installation is. 

The Diablo 4 space at BlizzCon 2023 is massive. I'm genuinely a little blown away by the scale of it, and the atmospheric design Blizzard has been able to conjure. Between billowing towers of smoke there are folks getting themselves Diablo 4 tattoos. Beneath the towering Whispering Tree others are getting caught up on all the day's action. And an imposing Statue of Lilith acts as an easy waypoint for adventurers trying to find their friends. 

It's all incredibly impressive, and the sort of thing that could only really exist at BlizzCon. I'm excited to share some photos of the Overwatch and Warcraft sections tomorrow... you know, unless I end up queuing for one of those Diablo 4 tattoos I mentioned. 

It's day two of BlizzCon 2023 and there's plenty going on for you Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch fans. Don't forget to check the full BlizzCon 2023 schedule so that you don't miss any panels from home, but here's a quick glance at the biggest talks for November 4: 

• World of Warcraft: Deep Dive – 12PM PT / 3PM ET / 7PM GMT
• Overwatch 2: What's Next – 1:30PM PT / 4:30PM ET / 8:30PM GMT
• Diablo 4: Campfire Chat – 2:30PM PT / 5:30PM ET / 9:30PM GMT

I'll be bringing you some photos from the show floor today, as well as some stories out of our interviews with key Overwatch, Diablo, and Warcraft developers. 

In the meantime, if you'd like to watch BlizzCon 2023 live you'll want to turn your attention to the office Blizzard YouTube channel: 

Blizzard gave us plenty to chew over in the World of Warcraft: Deep Dive, but one of the loudest reactions was undoubtedly for Warbands – the new account-wide alt system arriving in The War Within which makes it easier than ever before to manage your characters. 

To learn a little more about the system, I spoke with executive producer Michael Bybee. Proving that developers are also players, Bybee tells me why he's so excited to get his hands on cross-character transmog in the 2024 expansion.  

We are wrapping up after a full day of interviews on the final day of BlizzCon – be sure to keep your eye on 12DOVE next week for more insight into the future of Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and World of Warcraft. 

In the meantime, you can tune into the BlizzCon live stream right now to see Le Sserafim in concert. 

We're also going to share some of our favorite BlizzCon stories that we've published so far in case you missed them. 

Blizzard spoke with me earlier about the impact of the Diablo 4 malignant rings. It's a cool addition to the game, given that we never expected to see anything from season one return after Season of the Malignant concluded. 

For more insight into how the Malignant Rings were born, and confirmation on how long they will be remain in Diablo 4, be sure to check our conversation with Blizzard's Kayleigh Calder and Brent Gibson. 

Will World of Warcraft ever come to console? In conversation with the MMO's executive producer, Holly Longdale tells me that the team is "pretty well positioned" to bring the game to Xbox in the future. 

Looking for a recap on the highs and lows of BlizzCon 2023? Be sure to read our impressions of the event and the biggest announcements – all told, the triumphant return of Chris Metzen pushes Blizzard past some missed opportunities.