Blizzard Entertainment gave us a look at the Collector's Edition items for the upcoming Diablo III expansion, Reaper of Souls. Inside this epic CE box comes enough treasure to give even the loot-filled monsters of the Diablo universe a run for their money.
If there is one developer that has defined my gaming experience best over the last 20 years it's Blizzard Entertainment. Not only have I been a fan of the Warcraft franchise since the original RTS title was released in 1994, but they have also delivered two additional franchises that have captivated my attention on and off again across multiple titles, expansions, genres and platforms.
In fact the only game or game-world that has even come close to holding my interest to the same extend is League of Legends, if not in sheer number of years than at least in time spent in game. Unlike the unbridled affection I have for the immense depth of character of the three expertly crafted Blizzard franchises, League of Legends holds my attention primarily because of the engrossing MOBA game-play it offers.
So at the very first mention of Blizzard developing its own MOBA (or online team brawler as they prefer to call it), as well as the rebranding and continued development of the project, I am not ashamed to admit that I am more than a little excited.
BlizzCon 2013 is over and this year’s event will be remembered for many reasons. Not only did Blizzard announce details of the next World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor, but information was also released on future plans for the immensely popular Hearthstone, due to go into open beta next month.
With Blizzard's showing of Heroes of the Storm at BlizzCon also comes a developer interview video released by the creators of the game. Only one place can hold heroes and villains of this caliber. Enter the Nexus!
Blizzard fans, hold on to your hats – while you're running to grab your seat, that is. The BlizzCon 2013 Opening Ceremony begins today at 11:00am PT (2:00pm ET). If you're not attending BlizzCon and don't have a Virtual Ticket, you can still view the ceremony as well as all of the Starcraft II, World of Warcraft and Hearthstone eSports action for free on the BlizzCon livestream page. Tournaments will run throughout the day, so be sure to check the convention schedule in order to catch your favorite teams and players compete.
Blizzard Entertainment's strategy franchise StarCraft was the first video game series to support eSports. The trend continues this weekend in the World Championship Series Season 3 Finals of StarCraft II. In Toronto, Canada, 16 of the top players from the third and final season will compete for a $40,000 grand prize.
Each week, Chris "Syeric" Coke gives his unfiltered thoughts on the MMO industry. Taking on the news and hottest topics, Chris brings his extensive experience as a player and blogger to bear in Experience Points. This week he breaks down frustrating aspects of the industry, including the recent launch of Final Fantasy XIV.
Yesterday, for the first time since the game's release, I was able to log on to my guild's Final Fantasy XIV server. After eight days and one miracle patch, Square Enix finally seems to be making headway on an issue that never should have happened in the first place. See, this genre has a problem – a few of them in fact. One of them is launches. Another is the publishers and companies running these games. Today I want to look at what, in the words of Peter Griffin, really grinds my gears.
Blizzard Entertainment promised to reveal something unusual today, and it’s safe to say they delivered. While most of us were expecting more news about the Blizzard All-Stars MOBA, the actual announcement is something very different.
Battlenet, infamous and trustworthy Blizzard service, is getting an often-requested feature soon. Did you ever pop online just in the mood to play a game of Starcraft or World of Warcraft and not wanting to be noticed by your clan, guild, or friends? Then you'll like the Appear Offline option coming soon.
In the coming months, we're planning an update to Battle.net that will give you more control over your online presence when playing Blizzard games. Soon, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Diablo III players will be able to select "Appear Offline" as one of their Battle.net social-status options (along with Available, Busy, and Away) for those times when they want to wander Azeroth by their lonesome, dominate the galaxy in radio silence, or slay demons in solitude.
The feature will be spaced out depending on the game - they expect it in Diablo III in the 1.0.5 patch, and coming to WoW and SCII after their upcoming expansions.
Julian "Mirai" Williams
Mike Morhaime just released an important security update: there was unauthorized illegal access into Blizzard Entertainment's internal network this past week. While the information retrieved is not enough for anyone to gain access to Battle.net accounts, as a precaution, they recommend players on North American servers change their passwords. See the entire letter below, or read the original here.
