Everything From BlizzCon 2023’s Opening Ceremony - With Live Updates

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Today marks the opening for Blizzard Entertainment’s massive BlizzCon celebration, the first since 35,000 people gathered for the event in 2019.

We’ll have live coverage of the opening ceremony’s news and highlights for your quick reading. Refresh this page for news updates, starting in quick fashion at 11 a.m. Pacific time.

For the livestream and schedule of events, see the BlizzCon home page.

12:51 p.m. — Blizzard president Mike Ybarra returns to close the show (and these updates.)

12:46 p.m. — Longdale returns to talk about World of Warcraft expansion The War Within. An ancient civilization, led by Xal’atath, harbinger of the Void, will be featured.

Another cinematic features Alleria hearing the taunts of the shadow below. New zones will include the Isle of Dorn, The Ringing Deeps, Hallowfall. A Delves mode will be included, with end-game rewards for 1-5 players. You will be able to forge your Warband with your alts: All of your characters will share banks, reputations, transmogs and more.

Master Hero Talents will unlock new customizations - dark ranger and farseer, for example. The Earthen will be an Allied Race that players can choose for making characters. Dynamic flight was shown with all mounts.

The expansion will launch in 2024.

12:41 p.m. — A cinematic features Anduin talking with Thrall, about both of them returning. The style is remarkably lifelike, for WoW.

“That sword,” Thrall says, pointing to the blade of Sargeras plunged into Azeroth, “was aimed at someone.”

12:38 p.m. — “When it comes to WoW storytelling, we aren’t screwing around,” he said.

“Now is the time to come forward,” Metzen said. “Sometimes, very epic things can begin with small, heartfelt moments.”

12:33 p.m. — “We have decided to change it up today,” Metzen said, introducing the next three expansions. “There may be mild spoilers ahead. I’m just kidding. They ain’t mild. Buckle up!”

The 10th expansion will be The World of Warcraft: The War Within. It will go into the subterranean heart of Azeroth itself, and include Earthens and Nerubians. “You will be called upon to do what you always do — dispense indiscriminate justice upon all those that got it coming.”

The next will be World of Warcraft: Midnight. In this chapter, you will be returning to the Old World, the fabled lands of Quel’Thalas, to battle an invasion by the Old Gods. You will unite the elven tribes and stand with the Light to banish the shadow forever. “It is Azeroth. Things may not go to plan.”

The third will be World of Warcraft: The Last Titan. “In this chapter, you will again be returning to the old world - this time to the wintry lands of Northrend. There, at Ulduar, you will bear witness to the return of the Titans to Azeroth. And there, you will uncover a vast conspiracy, one that stretches throughout the history of the world, one that will challenge everything you think you know about the Titans and the true nature of Azeroth itself.”

12:30 p.m. — “We call this storyline the Wordsoul Saga,” he said, a clear reference to Azeroth’s soul. This is not an expansion, but a storyline that will play out over the next few expansions, the next few years, he says.

“We are working on multiple ways to deliver it to you faster than you’re used to.” That announcement will not happen here, he said.

12:27 p.m. — “It has been a long, strange trip to get back to this spot,” Metzen says.

Next year is the 20th anniversary of World of Warcraft. “We started thinking - so, what next? What single storyline could possibly match such a historic occasion?”

“Will there eventually be an apocalyptic conflict between the forces of the Light and the Void? On my pally main, I’m all in on that kind of thing if it happens. What have the Titans actually been doing since the dawn of the civilization?”

12:24 p.m. — Longdale turns to retail WoW with Dragonflight. Guardians of the Dream, patch 10.2, goes live in five days. It will include the last raid of the expansion, she said.

An epilogue to this story and the bridge to the next will follow.

“It’s time for a new adventure,” she said, turning the stage over to executive creative director Chris Metzen.

12:23 p.m. — There will be no public testing. Season of Discovery will launch November 30.

12:21 p.m. — The new expansion will happen in the first half of 2024. The Season of Discovery in Classic will offer class-altering abilities. Tanking warlocks, mage healers — “in Season of Discovery, you can.” The initial level cap of 25 will include a new end game, a Blackfathom Deeps 10-man raid. The level will rise again, with even more new content, and “so it will go,” Longdale said.

12:19 p.m. — A sizzle reel for Cataclysm Classic features the Warcraft expansion’s raids. Raid groups wiping repeatedly on the Spine of Deathwing is not featured.

12:16 p.m. — Longdale mentions Classic Hardcore. “We loved watching you take on the challenge or die trying.” Early next year, the team will add a new way to play hardcore.

Cataclysm Classic will be the next Classic expansion, with some changes based on player feedback.

12:15 p.m. — “Now is the perfect time to close chapters, and open new ones, and double down on why we fell in love with Warcraft in the first place,” Longdale says.

12:14 p.m. — Holly Longdale, executive producer for World of Warcraft, takes the stage.

12:06 p.m. — Saraf introduces players to the basics of Warcraft Rumble. (For more on that, see our previous interview with the developers.) The crowd responds extremely well. The game is available for everyone to download and play — free — right now. “Let’s bring down the Wifi together!!” he yells. “Just kidding. Please don’t bring down the Wifi.”

Perhaps predictably, the Wifi in the arena immediately slowed to a crawl, forcing this update to take three separate attempts to save.

Warcraft hero Sylvanas will join the game as a new mini, immediately.

12:04 p.m. — A surprisingly cute Warcraft Rumble sizzle reel video is followed by executive producer Vik Saraf taking the stage.

12:02 p.m. — A new Hearthstone Battleground mode will allow players to team up: Battlegrounds Duos. Players will have a shared health pool and can share cards between them. Players at BlizzCon can demo the mode now. It will launch for everyone early next year.

12:00 p.m. — Hearthstone Catch-Up Packs will include up to 50 cards to help players just joining or rejoining the game, all from the last two years for current play. All players will get packs when they log in, and anyone who purchased a BlizzCon ticket or a digital goody pack will get a few more. Pre-purchase bundles for Showdown in the Badlands will include Catch-Up Packs as well.

11:55 a.m. — Georgiou notes that Hearthstone is about to turn 10 years old, and will celebrate that milestone in March. In the upcoming November 14 expansion, Showdown in the Badlands, Azeroth’s Wild West, Reno Jackson and Elise Starseeker are getting an origin tale. Singleton decks are coming back, including Reno Lone Ranger, a neutral hero.

11:52 a.m. — Hight mentions digital card game Hearthstone and the new mobile game Warcraft Rumble, which launched today. “You are the heartbeat of the new adventures that are about to unfold,” he tells the crowd. Hearthstone lead designer Cora Georgiou takes the stage.

11:51 a.m. — “Generations of players have called Warcraft home,” Hight said. “Today is a great day for Warcraft.”

11:50 a.m. — A sizzle reel for Warcraft is followed by general manager John Hight taking the stage.

11:46 a.m. — Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, its first expansion, is announced for “late 2024.” It will include the Prime Evil Mephisto, a new forested region and a returning favorite area from Diablo II. A new class never seen before in Diablo will be included.

11:42 a.m. — Wat announces that all renown awards carry over from season to season. There are two new character slots, so you can make more. A targeting dummy lets you practice. Stash is now available in every town and sanctuary. World bosses appear twice as often. Gems are a crafting material to free up bag space.

Five class-specific rings will drop, Wilson said. An enchanting preview window will show you what affixes are possible before you spend gold. A new seasonal event, Abbatoir of Zir, will offer a unique glyph to those that survive.

Midwinter Blight, the first ever holiday event, will start December 12, for three weeks. “It’ll bring a whole new meaning to the words ‘sleigh ride,’ ” Wilson said.

A Gauntlet PvP event will allow heroes to challenge each other for the right to be recorded in the seasonal Hall of Ancients, Wat said.

11:39 a.m. — Production directors Tiffany Wat and Chris Wilson take the stage. This season, there’s a ladder of boss fights from levels 55 to 100, Wilson said. An experience squish will allow players to get to level 100 40 percent faster. Wat noted that item power is now more-closely related to boss difficulty.

11:38 a.m. — Diablo IV was the biggest launch in Blizzard history - players have played 1.5 billion hours so far, Fergusson said.

11:36 a.m. — Rod Fergusson, general manager of Diablo, takes the stage after a sizzle reel. He says more than 1,000 people got permanent Diablo tattoos at the Hell’s Ink events — including him.

11:32 a.m. — A new PvP game mode for Overwatch 2: Clash. It will feature five points in a row. The center point is start, pushing or defending. Once a team catches all five or reaches max score, they win.

A new map will be Hanaoka, home to the Shimada brothers, Hanzo and Genji. Next year there will be eldritch horror, witches, a mirror universe where heroes become villains and vice versa.

Venture, a damage hero, will come in season 10. A new support hero, code named Space Ranger, is on the way as well.

Mauga will be playable for all players after Opening Ceremonies all weekend.

11:30 a.m. — Keller announces the drops for Korean k-pop band Le Sserafim, which is doing a crossover event with Overwatch 2.

11:28 a.m. — Gschwind announces special Twitch drops on the World Cup stream.

11:25 a.m. — A video sizzle reel plays for the Overwatch World Cup Finals, which are playing at BlizzCon. Soe Gschwind, director of esports, takes the stage.

11:20 a.m. — Rogers announces a new hero: Samoan hero Mauga, a self-healing tank with traps, who can fighting other heroes with infinite ammunition in a cage fight with chains. He’ll launch in Season 8. Mauga means “mountain” in Samoan.

11:19 a.m. — A new competitive system overhaul is coming, Keller said. Dion Rogers, Overwatch’s art director, takes the stage.

11:17 a.m. — Keller says millions of players jump into Overwatch daily. He talks about the representation in the game.

11:16 a.m. — An Overwatch sizzle reel plays, followed by game director Aaron Keller taking the stage.

11:14 a.m. — Ybarra thanks players for their “passion and honesty.” “This is what BlizzCon is all about.”

11:12 a.m. — “Coming up, you’ll hear from some new friends — and some old friends,” he says, to a roar from the crowd, an obvious reference to Blizzard legend Chris Metzen, who has rejoined the fold at the company. “Our path forward is truly our own.”

11:11 a.m. — “The future of Blizzard is brighter than ever,” Spencer says.

11:07 a.m. — Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, takes the stage and talks about playing Diablo IV.

11:06 a.m. — “In everything we do, we are in service to you,” Ybarra says. “We are here to foster joy and belonging for everyone.”

11:02 a.m. — Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra takes the stage. Call and response shows that most of the crowd here are Warcraft fans.

10:59 a.m. — The lights are down and the stage is set.

10:54 am. — The arena is about full, but lines still stretch around the block outside the Convention Center. Will the ceremonies start on time? (Apparently so, as we just had the five minute warning.)

10:35 a.m. — Call and response in the Anaheim Convention Center arena as the hall slowly fills.

10:28 a.m. — Blizzard staffers are recording random-shouting hype videos from the front sections. Meanwhile, the three press folks in front of me are all playing Warcraft Rumble on their phones, which released today. Wireless access in the Convention Center is pretty remarkable.

10:18 a.m. — Seating is sporadic in the other halls, leading to clumps of people waiting to see the ceremony popping up on screens. In the arena, we’re still at less than 25 percent capacity, but the random shouting and cheers has officially begun.

10 a.m. — Others with Opening Ceremony arena tickets are starting to trickle into the arena. Less spooky now - the excited conversation is echoing.

9:50 a.m. — Courtesy of Ian Cruz, here’s the scene outdoors, in line and in Hall D, the Warcraft Hall, where one of the simulcasts is taking place.

9:36 a.m. — Only press are in the Anaheim Convention Center arena so far, and the blue-lit stage is a little spooky reflecting on all the empty seats. Soft music - perhaps from Blizzard’s synthwave collections released recently — plays in the background.

The ceremony is being simulcast throughout the Convention Center. Seats in the arena were awarded by lottery. Those attendees have not been granted entry yet.

The hall before general entry: