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Hearthstone’s ‘Boomsday’ expansion brings mad science to the card game
The second expansion of the year for Blizzard's digital card game Hearthstone, called The Boomsday Project, is coming on August 7th. Expect explosions and lab experiments gone awry as the title's next 135-card set brings the usual goodies: New keywords, an empowered card type and a couple twists on familiar elements.
The next ‘Overwatch’ hero is a hamster in a death ball (updated)
The team behind Blizzard's hero shooter Overwatch has released several outlandish heroes over the game's two-year run, but they've really outdone themselves this time. After a series of hints over the last couple weeks, the title's official Twitter account revealed...a hamster in a machine gun-toting iron ball. Unless the team is pulling a very elaborate stunt, this is most likely Hammond, the next hero to join the game.
New 'Overwatch' map brings the battle to Italy's canals
Last month, players of Blizzard's hero shooter Overwatch took a trip into the game's fictional past with a new temporary game mode, Retribution. The brawl portrayed heroes escaping through the streets of Venice after a clandestine mission gone wrong. Though the event ended on Tuesday, players can still roam (and fight) around gorgeous Italian canalways as the latest map, Rialto, is added to the game -- along with a few hero changes in the latest patch.
'Hearthstone’s first big expansion of 2018, ‘Witchwood,’ is live
With the release of the Witchwood expansion just now, Blizzard's card game Hearthstone has officially ticked over into a new year. That means all of the cards from 2016 have rotated out of the competitive Standard mode -- good riddance, Yogg Saron and Barnes -- to make room for new ones. As was the case in previous years, this first new set of cards for the year is the best time for interested players to get in the game.
‘Overwatch’ event retelling the heroes’ shadowy past is live
After plenty of teasing, the Overwatch team revealed the game's next event, Retribution, would feature a mode telling the story of some of the game's ruthless heroes. Now it's live, and until April 30th, players can dive in to explore when the shadowy BlackWatch squad went up against operatives from the rival Talon organization. And, of course, earn a bunch of new skins.
Play the new ‘Overwatch’ battle healer hero Brigitte today
As is custom for Blizzard, last month the company dropped a couple hints on Overwatch's Twitter account before announcing a new hero and immediately adding her to the PTR. Today, the front-line battle healer Brigitte has been added to the game across all platforms.
First 'Hearthstone' expansion of 2018 delves into ‘The Witchwood’
Weeks after laying out this year's plan for Hearthstone, Blizzard has announced the first expansion of 2018: The Witchwood. Once it lands, the Year of the Raven will begin -- and all of 2016's cards will be retired from the main Standard format. The haunted forest-themed set will introduce 135 cards and several card types that introduce new styles of play. And like the last two content additions, players will get solo content for free. The announcement didn't give a release date, but if the last two years are any indication, The Witchwood will likely drop next month.
Play the new 'Overwatch' support hero on test servers right now
There was a time when the Overwatch team spent months dripping out information about a new hero for fans to obsess over. But now it's content to simply drop a new one out of nowhere like a dropped mic and revel in the game's overjoyed community. Today is one of those days: Brigitte, a new melee support hero, has joined the fray -- and you can play her right now on the game's PTR servers.
Some 'Hearthstone' cards will be phased out with April's expansion
Blizzard has solidified Hearthstone's annual flow of retiring old cards and welcoming new ones: For the third year in a row, a new expansion will come in April that signals a sea change in the digital card game. While we don't know the title or flavor of Hearthstone's next set, we do have a list of changes and new features that will arrive when 2017's Year of the Mammoth gives way to 2018's Year of the Raven.
Blizzard will host a tournament for the 15-year-old ‘Warcraft III’
Out of nowhere, Blizzard introduced a public test realm (PTR) last fall for its 15-year-old game Warcraft III. PC fans of its current best-sellers like Overwatch play on PTRs to try out new features before they're released to everyone, so creating one for an old title clearly implies greater plans. Today, as was rumored, we know what those are: A new gameplay patch and a tournament at the end of February featuring top players from the game's heydey to the present.
Play 'Overwatch' for free (again) this weekend
Blizzard has a habit of seasonally opening up its hero shooter Overwatch for everyone to try every couple months, typically just after it announces a new hero, event or map. Fittingly, the publisher announced that new PC, PS4 and Xbox One players can try out the game for free next weekend to get a taste of the just-launched Lunar New Year seasonal event.
'Overwatch's' new Capture The Flag map and competitive mode is live
For the second year, Blizzard has launched a seasonal event to celebrate the Lunar New Year. As promised in a Developer Update video earlier this week, players get a new Thailand-inspired map and competitive mode for Capture The Flag, as well as new skins. There are a couple more changes, too -- including, at long last, the ability to change your hero's outfit at the start of the match.
Here’s what it would take to make Overwatch’s ‘Blizzard World’ IRL
Last week, the Overwatch team released a new map: Blizzard World. The multiplayer arena is a colorful amusement park filled with attractions and rides themed after Blizzard's stable of games. It's a delightful backdrop for the team-based shooter, filled with in-jokes and puns that make it look like a rapturous place for a gamer to visit. But what would it take to bring Blizzard World to life?
Blizzard is patrolling YouTube for toxic Overwatch players
Toxic players are a big problem for the Overwatch team. As game director Jeff Kaplan explained in a developer update last September, they're actually delaying maps and feature updates by forcing the developers to create measures to stem the tide of crappy player behavior. Those tactics seem to be working. In a new video, Kaplan reported that competitive play has less abuse and players are reporting more often. But the Overwatch team has gone further with at least one new proactive strategy: Find toxic behavior uploaded to 'social media sites like YouTube' and punish the accounts responsible.
‘Overwatch’ adds Disneyland-style map ‘Blizzard World’
Back at Blizzcon 2017, Blizzard's big announcement for its hero shooter Overwatch was a new character Moira -- at long last, another healer for the lineup. But equally exciting was the reveal of a new upcoming map: Blizzard World, a Disneyland-esque theme park jam-packed with references to the studio's stable of games. Today, that map goes live -- along with a slew of new skins and other extras.
Overwatch League's debut stream ruled Twitch last night
On Wednesday, Overwatch League (OWL) had its first-ever matches, drawing a huge crowd online. Six teams came to play the debut matches in Blizzard's Los Angeles eSports arena, but they were also streamed on Twitch to record numbers, peaking at over 360,000 viewers, according to Eurogamer.
Overwatch League’s first two seasons will air on Twitch
Blizzard has been putting a lot of work into its upcoming Overwatch professional league it introduced in late 2016. The company spent all of 2017 building it up, announcing teams based in large cities in the US, England, South Korea and China. Days before the league's first-ever match on January 10th, the publisher announced it's formed a partnership with Twitch, which will broadcast every match of the first two seasons.
The next ‘Hearthstone’ expansion is a dungeon-delving adventure
Blizzard's free-to-play card game Hearthstone just released its third and final expansion of 2017, Kobolds and Catacombs. Like the other two content releases earlier this year, K&C adds 135 new cards and a few new concepts to shake up play. But most exciting is the new single-player mode that riffs on classic dungeon-delving tabletop adventures. Dive in now: Players get three free card packs plus a random legendary weapon to celebrate the expansion's launch.
Try the new ‘Overwatch' hero during the game's free weekend
At Blizzcon earlier this month, the studio behind Overwatch announced a new playable character for the hero shooter: Moira, a healer with evasive and damage-dealing abilities. Last night, she became available to play on PC and consoles -- and wouldn't you know it, Blizzard is making the game free to try out this weekend, starting today.
Blizzard is making a 'StarCraft II' campaign free to play
Blizzard is taking StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty's campaign free to play. As Polygon reports, come November 14th, you'll have access to the entire narrative and if you already own that, you'll get the Protoss-themed Heart of the Swarm campaign for free. The other narratives will run you $15 each. Unlike StarCraft II: Starter Edition that included free multiplayer, the adversarial mode that comes in tow here will feature ranked play -- not just casual, unranked matches.
