The opening ceremony of BlizzCon 2019 takes place today on November 1st. We expect the presentation of a number of new games like Overwatch 2 or Diablo 4. We are also expecting important news regarding expansions for World of Warcraft and Hearthstone. You can see all the news and new trailers in the live ticker.
This is the idea of the live ticker: Once the opening ceremony starts at 7:00 PM German time, we will be ticking the most important news of the evening here.
We will summarize the announcements and link to further articles on MeinMMO. This way you stay up to date and won’t miss anything. If you want to follow the opening show yourself, we recommend our live stream on Max.
19:02: The most important leak before the start of the opening ceremony shows dozens of pages from the Blizzard Art Book, displaying images of Diablo 4. The images look really dark.
BlizzCon 2019 begins with an apology
19:03: J. Allen Brack apologizes for the Hong Kong incident at Hearthstone. They were too slow and struck the wrong tone. The hall applauds him.
He says Blizzard will strive to improve. But actions are more important than words.
1st new game: Diablo 4
19:07: A first trailer runs. It apparently shows Diablo 4. That’s Jerome Flynn, the actor of Bronn from Game of Thrones, in case anyone is wondering.
19:11: MeinMMO lore expert (for everything) Cortyn says: We are currently witnessing the summoning of Lillith.
19:14: After the trailer, it seems clear why Blizzard felt it necessary to issue a warning for children. Surprisingly a lot of blood.
19:15: Yes, we are currently seeing the “Diablo IV Announce Cinematic.”
19:16: BlizzCon 2019 begins just as BlizzCon 2018 should have ended. The Diablo director hints: BlizzCon 2019 begins “the right way.”
Diablo 4 returns to the “dark roots”
19:17: Diablo 4 is the world, the darkness, and the story.
They emphasize the horror elements. There are supposed to be obscure symbols, no clear victories anymore.
Blizzard promises us a “gothic, medieval version of hell.” You will be able to meet players with whom you can trade or kill. Diablo 4 will bring PVP zones.
Diablo 4 aims to combine the best of previous installments, including the strong combat system from Diablo 3.
Diablo 4: Release for PC, PS4, Xbox One – Druid as class
19:20: Diablo 4 will be isometric and will be released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. So neither mobile – nor the “First Person” perspective.
The first 3 classes:
- Barbarian
- Sorceress
- Druid
Diablo 4: Demo playable at BlizzCon, but no release date
19:21: A first gameplay trailer runs. Judging by the first reactions from the audience, Diablo 4 is probably exactly what most BlizzCon visitors were looking forward to.
A Diablo 4 with more social elements and a dark look – that corresponds to the leaks.
An initial demo of Diablo 4 is already playable at BlizzCon. However, there is still no talk of a release date for Diablo 4.
19:30: Blizzard opens all heroes in Heroes of the Storm for about 10 days. Now is a good time to get into Heroes of the Storm.
Brack alludes to “You think you do, but you don’t”
19:32: J. Allen Brack just said: “You think you want it and so do I” – referring to WoW Classic. He is alluding to the legendary phrase “You think you want it, but you don’t” that he said at BlizzCon 2013 when asked if Blizzard could make a kind of WoW Classic.
Fans of WoW Classic accused him of that for years. It became emblematic of Blizzard not listening to what the fans want, but believing they knew better.
Brack was somewhat of a hate figure – now he can make fun of it. This is an attempt to reconcile with WoW Classic fans, which was a huge hit for Blizzard.
WoW expansion Shadowlands
19:41: Hazzikostas talks about the next WoW expansion. He alludes to the many leaks and data mining.
Hazzikostas says: Everything is fine. He can’t think of anyone lurking in the dark waiting for their chance. Then the trailer begins. It shows natural Ice Crown.
Sylvanas marches into Icecrown Citadel. WoW Blizzard Cinematic – It’s always really well done. A fight ignites between the Lich King Bolvar and Sylvanas.
The Twitch chat is going crazy right now. Sylvanas is about to become the new Lich Queen.
Surprise twist: Sylvanas tears apart the crown. Yes, the next expansion is called “Shadowlands.” The leaks about it have been around for several months.
Hazzikostas says the rule “There must always be a Lich King” is now broken. Death will now come to all. To have a chance, players now have to go to the Shadowlands, the afterlife of all the peoples of Azeroth.
Blizzard shows images from 4 new zones.
Looks like a dark high-fantasy expansion with a gothic touch. So far nothing about new classes.
The release of Shadowlands is in 2020. Here is our article on the presentation of the new WoW addon Shadowlands.
New Hearthstone expansion: Descent of Dragons
19:57: The first images of the Hearthstone expansion again have the quirky Blizzard look. The expansion apparently revolves around dragons. Galakrond as the new hero card – the leak was also correct here.
Galakrond will apparently be an extremely important card that will be supported by other cards. Every player is supposed to receive 5 legendary hero cards for free.
New mode: Hearthstone Battlegrounds
20:02: It looks like they are really doing the Hearthstone Auto Chess. There will be a new mode for Hearthstone. An 8-player mode as “Auto Chess,” but in Hearthstone style.
The beta for this starts on November 12. However, players with a virtual ticket can start playing on Tuesday.
2nd new game: Overwatch 2
20:07: A trailer for Overwatch shows images of Echo.
Jeffrey Kaplan appears in a hoodie – he is the big identifying figure from Blizzard who is still around. He hints at the leaks that emerged before BlizzCon.
20:17: In a second trailer, Overwatch fights against robots. The heroes use a synergy of their abilities to defeat the threat. This could become a trailer for a kind of “PvE mode”.
This cinematic is also top-notch and wonderfully staged.
Reinhardt with a dad joke: He says to Mei “Ice to meet you,” Brigitte sighs.
20:19: The departing image shows “Overwatch 2.” Kaplan shows a gameplay trailer:
- It will be a coop game where teamwork seems to be important
- You will level up the heroes and customize their abilities individually
- New PvP mode “Push” – this will be a new core game mode
- there will be new heroes
- there should be a complete story campaign
Overwatch will be a sequel. Buyers of Overwatch 1 will be able to play the PvP mode of Overwatch 2 – no one should be left behind.
Players will retain all their skins and progress and can transfer them to Overwatch 2. They do not want to split the community.
This sounds as if Overwatch 1 players could continue to play PvP in Overwatch 2 – but not the PvE part and no new heroes. The reaction from fans is a bit muted at that point.
Conclusion: Brave BlizzCon without surprise due to many leaks
20:28: There were no surprises this time. All major announcements were anticipated by leaks. The leaks were accurate down to the last detail – Blizzard employees also happily hinted at that.
It is noteworthy that no new mobile game was introduced, although it is known how much Activision insists on it. Nothing was heard about Diablo Immortal either – perhaps Blizzard is saving such announcements for “in-between” – as a lesson from BlizzCon 2018.
It was somewhat unclear whether Overwatch 2 would become an “independent game” – now it is clear: It will be a standalone game, albeit players from Overwatch 1 can take some things with them. However, Blizzard probably expects that veterans will buy it for a second time if they want to stay up to date.
The highlight was surely the announcement of Diablo 4 – when that will come, however, remains to be seen.
We will have more news about BlizzCon 2019 on MeinMMO in the coming hours and days.
