BlizzCon 2023 announcements recap

BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony kicked off with welcoming speeches from Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra and Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. Read on for the full recap of every BlizzCon 2023 announcement.

After the Ybarra and Spencer speeches, game director Aaron Keller went on stage. He talked about how Overwatch 2 unites everyone in the community, highlighting the game's LGBTQ+ characters, cultures from around the world, and the Loverwatch event. Keller then mentioned the LE SSERAFIM concert that will be happening on Nov. 4.

Both Keller and Overwatch 2 art director Dion Rogers then talked about Mauga, who is the new tank hero. This announcement was followed by a brief introduction to upcoming heroes Venture and Space Ranger. Other key BlizzCon 2023 Overwatch 2 announcements included an introduction to the Clash game mode plus the Hanaoka map.

The Opening Ceremony event boasted The Worldsoul Saga as well! This will feature three expansions, including World of Warcraft: The War Within, World of Warcraft: Midnight, and World of Warcraft: The Last Titan.

The War Within will be the first installment of the saga, and players will get to explore ancient civilization Khaz Algar in 2024. A cinematic trailer for this featuring an older Anduin and Thrall made its debut on the BlizzCon 2023 stage.

Meanwhile, for fans of World of Warcraft Classic, the new Season of Discovery will go live on Nov. 30. It will have new features and unique rulesets, including runes, rune-engraving, incremental level cap increases, reimagined dungeons, and world player-versus-player (PvP) events.

The Opening Ceremony event also announced Cataclysm Classic! This will launch in 2024 and feature a plethora of quality-of-life changes and features. Some examples include a level cap of 85, new races Worgen and Goblin, the Archeology profession, streamlined leveling, dungeon difficulty modifiers, and more.

For those who wish to take a piece of Warcraft with themselves while they're on the go, they can jump into Warcraft Rumble. This is a mobile game that requires players to defend their own towers and destroy the enemy towers plus bosses.

Interested folks with Android and iOS devices can download the game now.

Don't forget about the event's Diablo 4 announcement! Vessel of Hatred will be the game's next expansion and feature a new region, information about Mephisto's fate, a brand-new class, and more.

In a post, Blizzard also noted that Diablo 4 Season 3 will be able to enter The Gauntlet as a weekly challenge dungeon. "At the end of each week, the combatants with the highest rank will have their name cemented in the Seasonal Hall of the Ancients for all of time," Blizzard noted.

As for Hearthstone, BlizzCon 2023 revealed the official Showdown in the Badlands cinematic. It features the adventures of outlaws Reno and Elise as they attempt to take down some corrupt townsfolk!

Other things to note for Hearthstone include Battlegrounds Duos, a free Warcraft Rumble card back, plus the arrival of new Catch-Up Packs. These are card packs that help players catch up with the new expansion. According to Blizzard, they include up to 50 cards.

"Catch-Up Packs are a new type of Hearthstone Pack that include a variable number of cards in them — between 5 and 50 cards per pack — based on the percentage of prior Standard expansion cards you’ve already received," Blizzard explained in a post.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!