BlizzCon 2023 was exactly what we deserved

MeinMMO demon Cortyn looks back at BlizzCon 2023. There was a lot of innovation – but were expectations met?

BlizzCon 2023 is over and while there were few announcements, there were a few really big ones. Regardless of whether it is the “Worldsoul Saga” add-on cycle for World of Warcraft or the add-on for Diablo IV – there were smaller highlights for most of them. But was BlizzCon convincing? I want to at least share my opinion with you here, because I really enjoyed the fair.

What was announced? Basically, the announcements can be summarized as follows:

WoW: The War Within – Brave and the right decision

The announcement of three expansions in World of Warcraft and thus the long-term plan until around 2030 is pretty bold. Because if you don’t like the story of the “Worldsoul Saga”, you already know: “Bye bye, I’m out.” So this is a pretty brave step that also shows that Blizzard is now “going through with it”. This was accompanied by a first (very good) cinematic that brought many people to tears.

With the Worldsoul Saga, WoW wants to conclude all of the major storylines of the last 20 years – and then make room for something new. Whatever that will be.

Although there are some controversies, such as the 3-day early access for buyers of the Epic Edition, the general announcement convinced me and makes me want more. But I also love the story about Xal’atath and the Titans, whose true machinations are now coming to light.

WoW Classic – Two exciting ideas

Fans of WoW Classic also have some really big highlights. While opinion on “Cataclysm” is divided – after all, for many it is the beginning of the end – the Season of Discovery in particular has received a great, positive response. Because that is essentially “Classic+”. There is new content for Classic with new abilities, completely fresh raids and lots of creative ideas. If you don’t feel like it, you don’t have to take part – it only affects the new “season” realms. From my point of view, a clear win.

Diablo IV – More content and an expansion

Even if fans of Diablo IV are a little disappointed that there was relatively little new information, the announcement of the first expansion is clearly positive. The story of Mephisto and everything that happens after the main story offers a lot of potential for improvement and of course a new class.

Overwatch 2 – New hero, new mode, better Battle Pass

Since Overwatch 2, despite all the justified criticism, is still one of my favorite games, I also thought the announcements here were great.

The new tank Mauga was already secured, but in the end it turned out cooler than expected. After all, not only did it get a stylish trailer, it also looks like a really good counter to flying enemies (like Pharah or Echo) – something that tanks have had little influence on so far.

What’s also exciting here is what Blizzard hasn’t shown yet. The Battle Pass should be revised and made more accessible. You should also have the option to unlock old Mythic skins if you don’t want the new one – a good solution, in my opinion.

Hearthstone – Finally co-op and catch-up packs

Hearthstone has been on a downward trend in recent years. With more and more cards and rising costs, Blizzard’s card game became increasingly less attractive. But solutions have now been presented for this. In the future there will be “Catch-Up” packs that contain a whopping 50 cards from the current expansions. This means that even newcomers can add to their collection very quickly.

At the same time, the most popular mode, Battlefield, will now also have a two-player mode in which you can compete cooperatively against other teams – long overdue, but definitely a good announcement.

Conclusion – A successful trade fair for all fans

Finally, I was also quite enthusiastic about LE SSERAFIM’s final concert. I thought K-Pop and BlizzCon were a pretty critical combination and apparently many people felt the same way. When the band was announced, many people left the audience seats, although new fans quickly arrived.

The audience seemed to be thrilled by the performance and, according to our editor Benedict, it was so crowded that you could only watch from outside on monitors. The band’s 30-minute performance has actually resulted in the group appearing more often on my playlist – but that may also be due to my love of idol anime.

It’s no secret that I like most of Blizzard’s games, although I’m also critical of many things, such as the German translations. That’s why I really enjoyed BlizzCon and more than met my expectations. Sure, they were low in advance, but World of Warcraft players in particular (whether classic or retail) have a lot to look forward to.

The only people who were probably disappointed were everyone who was expecting a big announcement of a new game. But that was probably the smallest part.

How did you like BlizzCon 2023? Which announcement was good and which was rather unsuccessful?