The 2014 edition of BlizzCon wrapped up over the weekend and it was quite the celebration. The event marked the 10th anniversary of the release of World of Warcraft, the world's most popular MMO and Blizzard pulled out all the stops. In addition to the thrilling end to several Blizzard related tournaments, the company also announced its first new IP in 17 YEARS. So much happened. Let's get to it.
Middle-Earth Shadow Of Mordor Soundtrack Released Onto iTunes
Hearthstone: Gnomes vs Goblins - the second expansion to the newest obsession for CCG fanatics. The new set will introduce over 120 new cards and heavily feature everyone's short, maniacal geniuses from both the Alliance and the Horde. A new type of Minion - Mech, will be available for all classes, including a neutral type. Be careful how you handle them; as with anything related to Goblins or Gnomes, things have a tendency to explode.
Blizzard announced that Goblins vs Gnomes will hit servers next month.
Latest Stronghold Crusader 2 Patch Adds New Skirmish Map, Balances Changes, Stat Sheet
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void - at long last! The third and final chapter, detailing the Protoss struggle against the Xel'Naga, will be coming out for the venerable RTS title. The finale has been five years in the making. In addition to finishing the storyline, the game will also introduce new (and old) units or abilities for Terran, Zerg and Protoss; as well as new multiplayer modes. The most exciting of which is the Archon Mode, in which two players command the same base simultaneously.
The company rarely announces release dates. If you never announce anything, nobody can hold you to it. Expect Legacy of the Void some time in 2015. You can sign up for the Beta here.
Overwatch - the company's first new title in almost 20 years, Overwatch cannibalizes several parts of their failed (and ambitious) Titan MMO to create a Team Fortress 2-esque shooter. It is safe to say that whatever Blizzard puts its mind to, it can knock out of the park. Look for this to be your newest obsession next year. You can sign up for the Beta.
Heroes of the Storm - while it is technically a new game, the upcoming MOBA culls characters across all of Blizzard's major franchises and tosses them all into deadly combat against one another. It is fitting that the company should create their title in the genre; the original Dota was based on a map in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and now you can hardly walk down the street without running into another new MOBA. The company revealed several new Battleground maps at the Con, giving us a total of seven so far. We also got a look at the ranked play and draft rules.
Sign up for the Beta!
Warcraft - director Duncan Jones was on hand to reveal the full cast list for the upcoming Warcraft film adaptation. The movie is currently in post-production, with a March 11, 2016 release date. He brought along the first two posters. But all you really need to know is that Clancy Brown is in it, and he's amazing.
There was no confirmation on the Eye of Azshara, which is rumored to be the sixth expansion to World of Warcraft. Hopefully we'll hear more about that soon.
Firebat won the first ever Hearthstone BlizzCon tournament in a one-sided battle against Tiddler Celestial. USA! USA! Firebat won 3-0 in the best of 5 finals and walked away with a cool $100,000. Not too shabby.
The three man team Bleached Bones won the World of Warcraft arena championship and picked up a $120,000 for their time and trouble.
It was an exciting time to be a Blizzard fan. The company is known for going years between releases, even announcements, and already we've seen an all new game (Hearthstone), one Hearthstone expansion (and another announced), Reaper of Souls expansion and a brand new IP announcement. Imagine what next year will be like.
