The BlizzConline is just around the corner. But what does Blizzard’s fair need to bring to convince the fans?
For all Blizzard fans, a big date is approaching next week. The game developer is hosting BlizzCon fully digital for the first time and thus launching the “BlizzConline”.
Although digital fairs became part of everyday life during the past Corona year, many of them were rather disappointing for viewers. Especially big announcements were largely absent and the prevailing opinion was that such a fair was not necessary for that. So what must BlizzConline deliver to convince the fans?
WoW: What’s next for Shadowlands?
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is quite good. The expansion is arguably one of the strongest expansions WoW has ever had in terms of content and gameplay. However, the launch content is slowly but surely exhausted and players have no real cues on where the journey could lead.
It is practically confirmed that Blizzard will give an outlook on Patch 9.1 and its content.
That will traditionally be a new raid, which will replace Castle Nathria as the first raid tier in the spring.
It is also unknown how the story will continue to develop. While all covenant campaigns have addressed the most pressing issues, there are still many unknown variables, such as the fate of Tyrande, the future of Kel’Thuzad, or what Sylvanas and the Jailer plan with Anduin.
If Blizzard wants to tease a bit more here, then Patch 9.1 will also include a fresh dungeon for 5 players. The previous 8 dungeons are good, but having 8 choices is less than in previous expansions.
Lastly, there will likely be information on how and when flying will be unlocked, which will drastically reduce travel time in the Shadowlands.
Overwatch 2: Info, Release Date, Insight into the Campaign
Since the announcement of Overwatch 2, development on Overwatch has slowed down dramatically. The developers’ energy is focused on Part 2, which makes players of Part 1 quite unhappy. There are only rarely larger updates, mostly just a handful of new skins for respective events.
Overwatch 2 promises many innovations and finally a large PvE mode with a campaign. More than a cinematic trailer and very rough concepts of the skill system have not been revealed in the past.
Here Blizzard could score with new information, show new heroes (and villains), or perhaps give insight into the gameplay of a campaign mission. After all, many players still worry that the campaign will “only” proceed like the story missions from the anniversary events.
However, fans should not get too many hopes before the event. In the past, it has been repeatedly stated that Overwatch 2 is still “not even Blizzard soon” away. It might simply be too early for new information on this title.
Diablo IV – New Class and Release Date
For Diablo IV, however, it looks better. It is practically clear that there will be information about a new class. This naturally comes with a lot of fresh videos of gameplay material with the respective class and how it can interact with the other classes.
A dream for all fans would be the announcement of a release date for the latest Diablo installment. However, Blizzard typically never commits to fixed dates unless they are certain they can meet them. In recent years, they have deviated from this with Warcraft III: Reforged and WoW: Shadowlands and received much criticism.
A release in 2021 has been ruled out. So anyone expecting a release date may be quite disappointed.
However, Blizzard is also preparing Diablo: Immortal for mobile devices. It is supposed to launch later this year and looks surprisingly good, even if the debacle surrounding the announcement still lingers in the minds of many fans.
Hearthstone – New Game Mode and New Set
For Hearthstone, the announcements will probably proceed rather traditionally. Many innovations have already been announced in advance, such as the development of a classic game mode or the introduction of a core set that changes every year.
Therefore, the BlizzConline will likely primarily focus on a new card set; after all, three expansions are to be released in 2021. Many of the 135 cards will surely be introduced, providing fans with things to look forward to.
However, the developers have also confirmed that they are working on a completely new game mode aside from “Classic” that should be in addition to the Battlegrounds and Duel modes. Perhaps there will be a first glimpse of it at BlizzConline.
Something brand new
It is widely known that Blizzard has been working on some secret projects in the background for several years. Bobby Kotick recently confirmed in an “Earnings Call” with investors that at least some mobile titles are in the works, including at least two related to Warcraft.
Even though mobile titles are still often seen critically in Europe or as “not real gaming”, it is a huge growth market with many potential customers. Therefore, it is likely that a new announcement could soon be available for smartphones.
At least the mobile titles are already in “advanced development”, which suggests that there could soon be first moving images.
Whether Blizzard will save the announcement of a mobile title for BlizzConline or will prefer to do it at another time after the debacle over Diablo Immortal remains unclear.
What is Project Fenway?
Currently, the project “Fenway” makes many people curious. The name has surfaced in recent weeks and is allegedly the title of a new game from Blizzard. Whether it is merely a project name or already the game title is still unclear.
Fenway could simply be the name of a mobile title, or something entirely new in a yet unexplored universe. After all, the last complete announcement of a new game world, like Overwatch, was more than 6 years ago.
Maybe Blizzard will surprise us here – if this project is even presented.
What about HotS and StarCraft?
For two games, Blizzard can only score, no matter what they do – because there are hardly any expectations.
Heroes of the Storm has been in a kind of “low energy” mode for years. While there are new contents like heroes and balance patches, they are released only at very large intervals. The game is still being supported and kept alive, but big jumps are no longer to be expected.
The StarCraft franchise has also been dormant for a few months now. Development on Part 2 has been completed and new content is no longer being developed here. However, StarCraft has always been an important pillar for Blizzard. Whether a new RTS game, a shooter, or something completely different will be released remains to be seen. However, the developers probably will not bury the franchise – it is simply too important and historic.
How can you watch BlizzConline? Those who want to witness what will actually be presented at BlizzConline should stock up on coffee or energy drinks on the upcoming Friday, February 19. The fair starts at 11:00 PM with the opening ceremony, which traditionally includes all major announcements. The exact details will follow in the following hours and will likely bring new information well into the early morning hours. The exact schedule for BlizzCon can be found here.
The stream is completely free and can therefore be viewed by everyone without buying a virtual ticket. For those for whom “spending money” traditionally belongs to BlizzCon, they should consider one of the anniversary packages.
We at MeinMMO will of course report on BlizzCon, so you can read all the important details afterwards on our site.
