Activision Blizzard
Like many events in 2020, BlizzCon was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, publisher Blizzard will take its fan event and game showcase digital with BlizzConline. The two-day show will reveal new content for the company's popular franchises and let fans hear more straight from the developers making the games.
BlizzConline starts Friday, and it will focus on Blizzard's franchises including Diablo, Overwatch and World of Warcraft. The event will also act as a celebration of the developer's 30th anniversary.
Here's what you need to know about the show and what might be revealed.
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When does BlizzConline start?
The show's opening ceremony starts on Friday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. It's in this first hour that Blizzard will reveal its biggest announcements. The rest of the two-day event will feature panels focusing on Blizzard's different franchises: Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and Starcraft. There's also going to be a virtual scavenger hunt, cosplay and arts and crafts panels.
A schedule for BlizzCon is available on the show's website.
Where can I watch BlizzConline?
In previous years, fans would need a virtual ticket to watch the stream of the event. Luckily, since there's no in-person convention, Blizzard has made the entire event free to watch. The livestream will be available on GameSpot's channel on YouTube.
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It's also streaming on:
Blizzard's YouTube channel. The BlizzCon website.Blizzard's Twitch channel.@Blizzard_Ent on Twitter.What's being revealed at BlizzConline?
Blizzard has yet to announce what games it will showcase during the event, but there have been some leaks on social media hinting at what may be shown.
Diablo: The big reveal for the show may be the release of a Diablo 2 remake dubbed Diablo II Resurrected. The dungeon crawler remains incredibly popular years after its 2000 release and is a favorite for fans of the franchise. There are few details on what might be different in the rumored remake, along with a likely graphics update.
As for the next game in the franchise, Diablo 4, the developer has already shown off some of the game and has been conducting an alpha test since it was announced at BlizzCon 2019. This year, expect more details about the game's classes and maybe a release date.
Diablo Immortal is the mobile game for the franchise, which has also had a public test. Blizzard will likely reveal the release date for Immortal during the show.
World of Warcraft: Since World of Warcraft's latest expansion, Shadowlands, came out in October, it's unlikely Blizzard will have another expansion to show off. There will be a big content update revealed called Chains in Domination according to a leak reported by WoWHead on Thursday. Players will have more dungeons, gear and a new raid to look forward to.
On the other hand, WoW Classic -- a re-creation of the MMORPG circa 2006 -- will receive a "new" expansion. Burning Crusade first came out in 2007, and it will bring the same content to WoW Classic. This includes the Blood Elf and Draenei races, the area called Outland and more content according to leaked info.
Overwatch 2: The sequel to the popular Overwatch was also announced at the last BlizzCon. Watchers should expect Blizzard to show off more about the game, but don't expect a release date.
Hearthstone: Like with every show, new info about the upcoming expansion for the collectible card game will be shown.
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