Prior to Blizzcon's opening ceremony, Blizzard Entertainment returned to the Heartstone incident in which e-athlete Ng "Blitzchung" Wai Chung who was disqualified due to his statements about the situation in Hong Kong.
Blizzard had the opportunity to bring the world together in a difficult Heartstone e-sport moment a month ago, and we didn’t, ”says Brack. “We made our decision too quickly and – to make matters worse – were too slow to talk to you about it.
“There are two things that I am most disappointed with. The first is that we have not met the high standards that we have set ourselves, and the second is that we have failed to achieve our goal. I apologize for that and take all the responsibility.”
According to Brack, Blizzcon is proof that video games bring the world together. He says that the event must demonstrate how everyone can express themselves in “all ways, in all places”.
Blizzard has announced Diablo 4 during Blizzcon 2019.
The first trailer gives an extensive look at treasure hunters fighting demons in a dark dungeon. The game takes place ‘many years’ after Diablo 3 and shows the resurrection of a ‘legendary name’.
Director Luis Barriga then told more about the themes and gameplay of Diablo 4. The game returns to the ‘dark roots’ of the franchise in both art style and story.
The game also gets a more extensive world, including a ‘gothic and medieval version of hell’. The game also includes PvP zones where players can compete against each other.
The first three classes are also revealed in the gameplay trailer: the Barbarian, Sorceress and Druid.
During Blizzcon 2019, Blizzard unveiled the latest expansion for World of Warcraft, called Shadowlands.
The cinematic trailer for Shadowlands reveals that The Lich King, the antagonist of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, is returning.
Director Ion Hazzikostas explains that players visit the Shadowlands, the hereafter in the Warcraft lore. There are the new zones Bastion, Revendreth and Ardenwald. Well-known characters from earlier expansions also return.
In terms of gameplay features, Hazzikostas revealed that Shadowlands is again adding new raids, including the Tower of the Damned. This weekend Blizzard will hold a ‘What’s Next panel’ in which the expansion is discussed in more detail.
During Blizzcon 2019, director Jeff Kaplan announced Overwatch 2.
The video, called Zero Hour, shows Tracer, Winston and Mei who repel a giant robot attack in Paris. During the fight, several well-known characters join, such as Genji and Reinhardt, after which they take down a big robot together. The meeting leads to the return of Overwatch.
Kaplan also unveiled cooperative story missions, the first of which is called Rio de Janeiro. In this game players have to free cities from the aforementioned robots. Apart from that, there are Hero Missions: replayable co-op missions for four players, similar to Adventure Mode from Diablo. In this mode, players can train heroes and unlock skills.
PvP is also still part of the franchise, with a new mode called Push. This weekend, the mode is playable for visitors to Blizzcon, so it will probably become more clear about what the mode actually entails. Blizzard also revealed that all 31 heroes will get a new look, in addition to the announcement of the new heroes Sojourn and Echo.
The multiplayer mode of Overwatch 2 is shared with the original game, with all new maps and heroes also coming to Overwatch. Players who switch to Overwatch 2 take all their progress into the game.
Blizzcon 2019 is taking place in Anaheim, California this weekend.