Blizzard Entertainment’s annual community
celebration showcases new content and new titles coming to the
company’s blockbuster game universes
World-class competitors clash in Overwatch®,
StarCraft® II, Hearthstone®, Heroes of the Storm®, and World of
Warcraft® esports before an audience of millions of viewers around
the globe
At BlizzCon® 2018, more than 40,000 gamers gathered to celebrate
and be among the first to learn what’s coming next for their
favorite Blizzard games, and to cheer on some of the top esports
competitors in the world, with millions more tuning in online. For
two days, the Anaheim Convention Center was packed with developer
panels, friendly competition, and live entertainment as the
Blizzard community learned about and went hands-on with new heroes,
new content updates, and new games coming to the company’s stable
of blockbuster franchises.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181104005025/en/
Some of the most talented cosplayers in
Blizzard Entertainment’s global gaming community put their skills
on display at BlizzCon. (Photo: Business Wire)
Attendees and viewers also witnessed the dramatic conclusions to
numerous esports championships and exhibition-style competitions as
they unfolded across multiple stages:
StarCraft® II World Championship Series
Global Finals
Winner: Joona “Serral” Sotala
History was made at BlizzCon 2018 with the first non-Korean to
win a StarCraft global final in the franchise’s 20-year history.
After winning all four WCS Circuit events in 2018, Finnish Zerg
Serral completed his incredible run by defeating the South Korean
Protoss Kim “Stats” Dae Yeob 4-2 in their best-of-seven final
series.
Heroes of the Storm® Global Championship
Finals
Winning team: Gen. G
After Gen.G’s harrowing 4-3 victory over Team Dignitas in the
Grand Finals of the Mid-Season Brawl earlier this year, Dignitas
were granted another shot at the Korean kings of Heroes of the
Storm. But Gen.G brought a slew of pocket strategies and drafts
that helped them out-maneuver Dignitas at each point of contention.
With their 3-0 victory in the Grand Finals, Gen.G became the first
team to win back-to-back BlizzCons and remain the reigning HGC
World Champions.
World of Warcraft® Arena World
Championship
Winning team: Method Orange
After fighting their way through a stacked 12-team
double-elimination bracket, North American squad Method Orange won
the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship Grand Finals 4-0
over fellow North American competitors The Gosu Crew. The win is
particularly sweet for Method Orange’s Charles “cdew” Dewland, a
new father who first competed at BlizzCon in 2014.
World of Warcraft® Mythic Dungeon Invitational
All-Stars
Winning team: Free Marsy
The top four teams from the World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon
Invitational (MDI) Global Finals were invited to compete on stage
at BlizzCon, but there was only room for one winner—Free Marsy from
Australia. After underperforming at the Global Finals in June, the
2017 inaugural MDI Champions came roaring back in Anaheim, dying
all of twice across four maps on their road to total dungeon
domination.
Overwatch® World Cup
Winning nation: South Korea
If there was any doubt about which country reigns supreme in
Overwatch, South Korea put it to rest, again. The Koreans notched
an Overwatch World Cup three-peat, dispatching China 4-0 in the
gold-medal match. South Korea’s Seong-Hyun “Jjonak” Bang was named
T-Mobile™ MVP after racking up more eliminations, and at a faster
rate, than any other support player throughout the entire
tournament. In the bronze-medal match it was Canada dispatching the
United Kingdom.
Hearthstone® Global Games
Winning team: China
Forty-eight four-person national teams embarked this summer on
their 2018 Hearthstone Global Games (HGG) journey, battling for
eight coveted playoff slots at BlizzCon. Team China, comprised of
Gao “Leaoh” Yang, Zheng “OmegaZero” Lin, Zhang “YouLove” Lichen,
and He “Trunks” Huan, triumphed with a clean 3-0 win over a surging
Brazil in the Grand Finals. Said Trunks, “This is my first trophy
at a global tournament ever, and this also proves how good Chinese
Hearthstone is!”
StarCraft: Remastered Show Match: KSL vs. ASL
Winner: Jung “Rain” Yoon
The champions of Korea StarCraft League (KSL) Season 1 and
Afreeca Starleague (ASL) Season Five—Kim “Last” Sung Hyun and Jung
“Rain” Yoon, respectively—were invited to compete in a best-of-five
series at BlizzCon. The Protoss Rain, who last appeared on a
BlizzCon stage in 2015, defeated the Terran Last 3-1 to secure his
first BlizzCon trophy ever. Said Last, “Brood War® is really
popular in Korea, but it’s awesome to see that there are fans here,
too!”
In addition to all of the epic esports action, Blizzard had
several major game highlights during the show, including:
Diablo®
- Diablo Immortal™ –
Blizzard announced an authentic Diablo experience for mobile
devices with Diablo Immortal, a mobile MMO action-RPG that
presents a new chapter in the globally acclaimed series.
- Diablo III: Eternal
Collection™ now available – Nintendo Switch
owners can now get their gauntlets on Diablo III: Eternal
Collection, combining all of the content from Diablo
III, the Reaper of Souls® expansion, and the Rise of the
Necromancer™ pack.
Warcraft® III Reforged
- Warcraft III: Reforged –
Experience this beloved real-time strategy game like never before.
All-new art and animations, 62 single-player missions, a refreshed
user interface, an overhauled World Editor, full Battle.net®
integration, and more await in this timeless classic—coming in
2019.
World of Warcraft
- Tides of Vengeance – The war
between the Horde and the Alliance reaches a crucial turning point
in Tides of Vengeance, the upcoming first major content update for
the Battle for Azeroth® expansion coming the week of December 10
that will bring the Battle of Dazar’alor raid, the Battle for
Darkshore warfront, and more.
- Watch the “Lost Honor” cinematic.
- WoW® Classic – BlizzCon
attendees got to test an early build of WoW Classic on the show
floor. Attendees and Virtual Ticket holders can access the BlizzCon
WoW Classic Demo from home until 10 a.m. PT on November 8. WoW
Classic will launch Summer 2019, and will be included with a World
of Warcraft subscription.
- Adopt Whomper and Support
Code.org – A new in-game pet and plushie—Whomper, the playful
baby yeti—is now available for purchase, with proceeds going to
benefit Code.org—a nonprofit dedicated to expanding computer
science education in schools and increasing participation by women
and minorities.
Overwatch
- Ashe – A new hero, the notorious
gunslinging outlaw Ashe, will soon be joining the roster of
Overwatch, Blizzard’s widely acclaimed team-based shooter.
- McCree Animated Short – A new
Overwatch animated short was revealed during the ceremony—in
“Reunion,” McCree runs into his old friend, Ashe.
Hearthstone
- Rastakhan's Rumble™ – A
new Hearthstone expansion, launching December 4, pits players
against the finest troll gladiators Azeroth can muster. Step into
Gurubashi Arena and fight for glory with 135 brutal new cards,
including Wild Gods that have manifested in the form of nine new
Legendary Loa minions.
- Rumble Run – In the
single-player mode for Rastakhan’s Rumble, Rumble Run, compete for
glory before cheering crowds in a no-holds-barred throwdown in the
Gurubashi Arena. Players will choose a troll champion and climb the
ranks in this gladiatorial contest to be crowned champion. Rumble
Run is free for all players; no pre-built decks are required for
entry.
- Pre-Purchase Now Available –
Eager combatants can pre-purchase Rastakhan’s Rumble card packs via
two bundles: a 17-pack Challenger’s Bundle, which includes
the Ready to Rumble! card back, and the 50-pack Rumble
Bundle, which includes the King Rastakhan Shaman Hero and the
Ready to Rumble! card back. These one-time-only bundles are
available on any platform for $19.99 and $49.99, respectively
(players can purchase each bundle once per account).
Heroes of the Storm
- New Hero: Orphea – The
first-ever Nexus-born Hero—Orphea, heir of Raven Court and
daughter of the nefarious Raven Lord—is an approachable ranged
Assassin with a high skill cap who rewards opportunistic plays.
BlizzCon attendees and Virtual Ticket holders will get Orphea free
when she makes her way to the Nexus in Blizzard’s fast-paced MOBA
later this month.
- Match-Quality Updates and Community
Content – The 2019 gameplay update is coming to Heroes of the
Storm with the goal of making games feel closer and more
competitive, including exciting new changes to the experience
system and matchmaking. The Heroes of the Storm team is also paying
homage to some of the community’s most hotly requested items by
adding skins like Janitor Leoric, the Kevin Johnson aka Cloaken
announcer, and more.
StarCraft II
- Zeratul – Prepare to strike from
the shadows with the next Commander for StarCraft II’s popular
Co-Op mode: Zeratul, the renowned Dark Templar prophet. By
collecting powerful artifacts, Zeratul unlocks new capabilities and
the ability to customize his global top bar abilities.
- Warchest/Twitch – For the first
time ever, the War Chest will integrate directly with Twitch to
reward players for watching StarCraft II. Players can unlock
exciting in-game content such as player portraits, sprays,
emoticons, banners, and for the first time ever, building skins.
Learn more.
For more information on the games, players, and esports
excellence that was celebrated at BlizzCon 2018, or to watch VODs
of the action with the BlizzCon 2018 Virtual Ticket, visit
www.blizzcon.com.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft,
Hearthstone, Overwatch, the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo
franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard
Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision
Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of
entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s
most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track
record includes twenty-two #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year
awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®,
is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active
players.
*Sales and/or downloads. Based on internal company records and
reports from key distribution partners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking
Statements: Information in this press release that involves
Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions, or
strategies regarding the future, including statements about the
availability, features, and functionality of Diablo Immortal,
Warcraft III: Reforged, WoW Classic, and new content for Overwatch,
Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and StarCraft II are
forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard
Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this
release include unanticipated product delays and other factors
identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s
most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this
release are based upon information available to Blizzard
Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this
release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard
assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when
made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or
Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
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Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.Rob HilburgerVP, Global
Communications949.242.8404rhilburger@blizzard.comorChristy
UmGlobal PR Director949.955.1380
x61251christy_um@blizzard.comorChe’von SlaughterSr. PR
Manager949.955.1380 x14338cslaugther@blizzard.com
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