BlizzCon Opening Ceremonies, With Live Updates

This convention is expected to be exciting for a number of reasons: One, the likelihood of four separate new-game or new-expansion announcements, likely including Overwatch 2, Diablo 4, the new World of Warcraft expansion (Shadowlands?) and a fourth title that as yet hasn’t had associated leaks, but could be Hearthstone’s next expansion or – crossing fingers here – some new intellectual property.

Second, in addition to the announcements, more than 35,000 gamers are here to see updates about titles they know are coming, including this winter’s Warcraft III: Reforged. This is a banner year for BlizzCon, especially compared to last year’s somewhat-lackluster lineup, including the much-maligned announcement of Diablo: Immortal, a mobile game that has since been delayed.

And third, more recently, Blizzard has struggled under the extreme cultural backlash from fining and suspending a Hong Kong Hearthstone Grandmaster esports player, who used part of an interview on the company’s Chinese-language stream to express his support of the Hong Kong protests that have been underway since June.

After several days of fan outrage and angry comments from everyone including celebrities, streamers, Blizzard employees and California’s politicians, the company did return the player’s prize money and reduce his suspension, but maintained that the censure was the correct action.