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DeepMind's ‘Starcraft II’ AI will play public matches
Players will soon get a chance to battle it out with DeepMind's Starcraft II AI. Alphabet and Blizzard will test AlphaStar in a small number of public matches. It'll be a Herculean task for the human players, to put it lightly. The AI has the accumulated knowledge of 200 years of playing Starcraft II, and earlier this year beat a team of professional players 10-1. So, for the average gamer, the odds of beating AlphaStar are laughably impossible -- but it'll be fun to watch.
Blizzard's global esports director quits amid turmoil
Blizzard's esports team just lost another major leader -- global esports director Kim Phan has left Blizzard to pursue a "new endeavor" in the gaming industry. The veteran didn't harbor ill will against Blizzard in her farewell post (she plans to attend BlizzCon as a fan), but the move came just under a month after Overwatch League Commissioner Nate Nanzer left for Epic Games. It's not clear who's filling Phan's old role.
What we played in May: 'Sekiro' and 'Diablo 3'
Welcome back to Engadget's Gaming IRL, a monthly segment where we run down what our editors are playing. For the most part, we've been carving our way through Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the latest bit of gamer punishment from the From Software folks. And one of our editors decided to dive into some classic Blizzard titles: Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2. We'd also love to know what you've been playing, shout out in the comments below!
Rumor: Leak suggests the next WoW expansion is nearly feature-complete
So, ready to jump on the rumor mill? Because it's churning out big stuff about Blizzard today. An anonymous source from inside the company has apparently claimed that World of Warcraft's next expansion has quadrupled its art outsourcing and is nearly feature-complete. The source also claimed that Hearthstone is doing banner business, with its next expansion set to release in April with a heavier PvE focus. Darker news was revealed for the other franchises under the company's banner. The next part of StarCraft II is done but with no release date. Overwatch is in the midst of debates over business model and payment plans, with the studio pushing for a 2015 release but most likely going for 2016. Meanwhile, Heroes of the Storm has low expectations among the upper management and the Diablo III team has been "completely gutted." It's up to you you believe the rumors, of course, although come April, they might look rather plausible.
WoW Moviewatch: WarCraft: Armies of Azeroth
Perhaps the biggest downside to the success of World of Warcraft is that we haven't seen a Warcraft RTS since Warcraft III in 2002 -- or 2003, if you'd prefer to count from the release of The Frozen Throne expansion. Either way, that's a long time to go without any classic RTS Warcraft goodness. The Armies of Azeroth team is trying to fix this problem with a StarCraft II mod that recreates Warcraft III on the StarCraft II engine. From the trailer above, we've got to say that the results look awesome. Sure, we've played Warcraft III plenty of times, but, while there's no release date for this mod, we're eager to check it out all over again with the tech updates the past decade has made possible. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void to debut as standalone game
Like two High Templar Protoss merging to form an Archon, the third installment of the StarCraft 2 saga, StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void, will be comprised of two identities: that of an expansion, and that of a standalone game. In non-game jargon speak, this means that although Legacy of the Void will act as a continuation of the series' plot up to now, you'll be able to purchase and enjoy it regardless of whether or not you own Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm. Comparing the new game to an Archon unit is more accurate than you may think though, as the game will feature something called "Archon Mode," where two players cooperatively manage a single base as they face off against another duo of players doing the same. Blizzard revealed the news during the opening ceremony for BlizzCon 2014, which is happening this weekend in Anaheim. [Image: Blizzard]
BlizzCon kicks off on Friday, virtual tickets still available
If you've been waiting patiently for the next big convention focused entirely around Blizzard's game catalogue, your wait is almost over. BlizzCon 2014 kicks off on Friday, November 7th, with the opening ceremonies starting at 2:00 p.m. EST. There's no chance of attending in person if you don't already have a ticket, but you can still pick up a virtual ticket, and DirecTV customers can also grab a pay-per-view stream that includes a virtual ticket and the associated benefits. The convention will host a variety of tournaments, including the Hearthstone championships, the StarCraft II championships, and the World of Warcraft Arena championship. There will also be the usual assortment of lore panels, development previews, and reveals for the various games under the Blizzard banner, included the much-anticipated Warlords of Draenor expansion. If you've been on the fence about getting a stream, take a look at the list of festivities and get ready to see what's coming from the studio this weekend.
Joystiq Weekly: Titanfall gets co-op, Civ: Beyond Earth review, amiibo impressions and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. With Titanfall getting a co-operative, wave-based mode, Super Smash Bros. on Wii U ushering in eight fighters at once and Halo: The Master Chief Collection just a few weeks (and a ~20GB patch) away, we're ready to spend a substantial amount of time beside our friends. Cunning AI is great and all, but what beats teaming up with or taking down local, equally-frantic friends and rivals? Other than wish-granting sacks of money, we mean. Single player diehards certainly aren't left out of this week's best content though – Rockstar launched a super-cheap, upgraded version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the Xbox Marketplace today, there are reviews for Civilization: Beyond Earth and The Legend of Korra, and we got our hands on amiibos and Sony's horror romp, Until Dawn. All of that and quite a bit more is waiting for you after the break!
StarCraft 2 and the quest for the highest APM
A game like StarCraft 2, popular amongst both casual strategy fans and professional gamers, showcases the large divide between playing a game for fun and for competition. There are seven ranked multiplayer leagues per region globally in StarCraft 2, a daunting number of leaderboards that welcome both the infrequent and the dedicated player. The elite players, however, are the Grandmasters – a tiny, region-based pool of StarCraft 2 experts. The road to Grandmaster is not for the weak. One must be willing to 'play' for hours, days, and months – even years – to get better. The learning curve can be incredibly unforgiving towards a beginner. Forget to scan the battlefield? You could lose you entire Marine army to some burrowed Banelings. Forget to build anti-air defenses? A couple of Void Rays could take out your entire base. Forget to build workers? You won't lose the match immediately, but you'll get destroyed once the game enters its middle phase. And then, of course, there's the cheese – the ludicrous, yet powerful strategies that lead to an instant win or loss.
Blizzard posts official BlizzCon schedule
You've got your tickets purchased, your hotel arrangements squared away, your bags all packed. You're ready for BlizzCon this year! But leaving aside the fact that you can probably unpack your bags now as you've still got a month to go, what are you actually going to be doing at BlizzCon? That's what you can find out by taking a gander at the official schedule, which tracks the events of the day on both Friday and Saturday for World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2, Hearthstone, and Diablo III. A floor map is also available so that congoers can get a feel for the layout before arrival, although that's of less interest to fans planning on taking advantage of the streaming options available for the convention. If you're thinking of buying a virtual ticket for the high-quality streams, take a look at the schedule and see if it's stuff you want to watch streaming live. Unless, as we said, you've already got your bags packed to go in person.
StarCraft II world championships to be held in Anaheim Convention Center Arena
BlizzCon is expanding into new territory this year. While the StarCraft II tournaments have historically taken place in the convention hall, the StarCraft II WCS Global Finals will now be held in the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. All BlizzCon ticket holders will have access to the tournament, but Blizzard will also be selling approximately 1,000 additional tickets for the finals at a price of $25 each (plus a $2.37 service fee). Note: those additional tickets do not grant access to BlizzCon, but only the Loge and Terrace balcony sections of the Arena. The tickets will go on sale via Eventbrite beginning October 7. If you're interested, we highly recommend Blizzard's event FAQ which includes additional details about ticketing.
BlizzCon 2014 in-game goodies sneak peek
Last week, we had our first glimpse at Grommloc, the BlizzCon 2014 in-game pet. Today, Blizzard has revealed the remaining in-game rewards. Hearthstone Blizzard Entertainment-themed card back. The design incorporates elements from the compass inlaid around the infamous orc statue. StarCraft II New portraits and a Heroes of the Storm-themed decal. One portrait depicts Hierarch Artanis. The other is yet to be unveiled. Diablo III Warlords of Draenor-themed weapon transmogrifications. Each class will receive its own weapon, but only the demon hunter, barbarian, and monk are displayed. Kargath's bladefist and Blackhand's hammer are easily recognizable in the image. Only available for Windows/Mac version of the game. Heroes of the Storm Nexus Mount and Nexus Brawler portrait The official BlizzCon site has a more detailed image of each than you see in the header above. It being BlizzCon and all, we can't help but wildly speculate a little: given the protoss theme of the StarCraft portrait, and the fact that one of the portraits is still veiled in mystery, could we finally see a Legacy of the Void announcement? Nearly three years passed between the launch of Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm. Half of that time has passed since Heart of the Swarm's release, which would make this pretty good timing for an announcement -- though certainly not a release date.
StarCraft II: An MMO player's perspective
StarCraft is of immense importance to the world of online gaming. It's one of the franchises responsible for establishing Blizzard Entertainment as a titan (get it!?) of the games industry. It serves, for many, as the ideal example of what an RTS game should aspire to be. And it was among the first titles to transcend one-off competitions and contests to become a global e-sport featuring pros who make the big bucks and events watched by millions. Without StarCraft, there would be no Dota 2, no League of Legends, perhaps no SMITE or Infinite Crisis. The MOBA niche, now one of the most profitable areas of online gaming, might not exist if not for the original StarCraft's custom three-lane Aeon of Strife map. StarCraft and its sequel, StarCraft II, represent the quintessential essence of small-scale online warfare. As a fan of MOBAs and an ardent lover of clicking things quickly, I took a spin in StarCraft II in an effort to better understand the foundation of the games I enjoy. What I discovered was a difficult, punishing game that demands your full attention and gives you plenty of reasons to keep coming back.
Enter to win exclusive Comic-Con prizes from Blizzard
If you aren't lucky enough to be heading to San Diego for Comic-Con 2014, good news -- you can still get yourself some Comic-Con goodies. Blizzard will be giving away 25 Comic-Con goodie bags chock full of cool and exclusive Blizzard merchandise. To enter, simply follow the link provided on the official announcement post, and earn entries by completing a variety of social actions using the contest app. Winners will receive a Heroes of the Storm T-shirt and lanyard, a Diablo Whimsyshire Treasure Goblin, a Starcraft Cute But Deadly Cloaking Zeratul, a Starcraft Funko Pop! Vinyl Primal Kerrigan, and a Warcraft Nether Faerie Dragon Plush. The contest runs until July 27, so you have plenty of time to get plenty of entries in. For more information, and the official rules, head to the contest app page. Good luck to all who enter!
Fans streamed 2.4 billion hours of competitive gaming last year
We've known that streaming game video from the likes of Twitch has been popular, but the extent of it hasn't exactly been clear. Last year 2.4 billion hours were spent watching competitive gaming (eSports) broadcasts online, according to a report from market research firm IHS. Think about this for a second: if there are around 8,766 hours in a year, in 2013 people watched some 273,785 years of League of Legends (LoL), Dota 2 and StarCraft 2 competitions. For context, the 528,000 who streamed this year's Super Bowl only tuned in for around 48 minutes each, or 422,400 hours total. IHS says that this eSports feat wouldn't have been possible without services like Twitch which are capable of handling huge amounts of viewers for live audiences -- like last fall's LoL tournament that drew 32 million viewers, with 8.5 million watching at the same time. The next step? Turning all of those eyeballs into profit, of course. By 2018, IHS forecasts that eSports advertising revenue will be worth $300 million. Cha-ching. [Image credit: Associated Press]
Fans watched 2.4 billion hours of eSports in 2013
Got some spare time on your hands? Apparently so, according to a recently-unveiled report from IHS Technology, which claims that people tuned into eSports-themed video programming for a total of 2.4 billion hours in 2013. Just in case that slipped by, that's billion. With a B. Which is roughly 273,973 years.IHS expects this trend to continue, predicting that we'll watch a combined 6.6 billion hours in 2018. Another number on the rise: advertising dollars. According to the report, eSports generated more than $32.8 million in online advertising revenue in 2013, and IHS expects that number to grow by more than 250 percent over the next four years. League of Legends was the most-watched competitive game in 2013, followed by Dota 2 and StarCraft 2. The largest audiences for top competitive games were found in China, with silver and bronze for number of spectators going to the USA and South Korea. [Image: Riot Games]
Activision-Blizzard sues over StarCraft II cheats
On May 19th Blizzard filed a suit with the Central District of California over the practice of players who create cheats for multiplayer mode in StarCraft II. In particular, the suit names the "ValiantChaos MapHack" as one of, but not the only, hack being targeted by the litigation. The suit claims that the cheats undermine the nature of multiplayer gameplay and "disrupt or impair the online experience for purchasers of the computer game." The suit targets the programmers behind the hacks, demanding compensation for the copyright infringement inherent in the cheats' modifications of the game. As noted in the BBC report, this lawsuit recalls a similar one from 1990s, wherein Nintendo unsuccessfully sued the creators of the Games Genie, also on the grounds of copyright violation. That lawsuit, however, took place in the days before widespread online multiplayer gaming environments, and it will be interesting to see how much, or how little, this case echoes that one.
First wave of BlizzCon tickets sold out
Tickets for BlizzCon 2014 have sold out! Well, the first round of tickets have, anyway. It's estimated that this first offering sold out in five to 10 seconds, according to our sister site WoW Insider. Past BlizzCons have seen similar ticket sales, and this year is already showing that Blizzard's still got it. If you happened to blink at any time yesterday, you can still try for round two this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. PDT (1:00 p.m. EDT).
Blizzard rings in April Fool's with faux fisticuffs, Flappy Bird spoof
Blizzard Entertainment has long had a reputation for its meticulously crafted April Fools' Day gags, and this year, instead of a sole punchline, the company is offering the willingly gullible a trio of faux announcements. For instance, it has been revealed that the next segment of the StarCraft 2 trilogy will be titled StarCraft 2: Herald of the Stars. In lieu of focusing entirely on strategic warfare, the real-time strategy game will instead explore the history and heartwarming minutiae surrounding the alien Protoss race. You'd expect new weapons and units, but the game will also offer new hairstyles, a dance editor and built-in Twitch audience interaction. Blizzard senior game producer Hony Tsu describes StarCraft 2: Herald of the Stars as "a hug for the soul." Hoping to make Diablo 3 more palatable to the average person, Blizzard is swiping a page from the Flappy Bird playbook to make Happy Reaper. "With a series of well-timed mouse clicks or finger taps, skillfully guide Malthael through a network of ancient Pandemonium ruins to collect human souls and obliterate all puny nephalem with your trusty Death Laser of Doom," reads Blizzard's official description. Rounding out today's gags is Blizzard Outcasts: Vengeance of the Vanquished, a fighting game starring the developer's most famous characters. While it won't be coming to consoles, the game will be available on PC, Mac and expensive, custom arcade cabinets. We urge you all to read Blizzard's full description, but if you've only got 47 seconds available, watch the above teaser. It tells you pretty much everything you'll need to know about this fake game. [Image: Blizzard]
Riot allegedly patents Spectator Mode camera element
According to a Reddit thread today, Riot, creator of League of Legends, has had a patent approved for what the poster describes as the "self-moving camera" within their spectator mode. The patent documents spell out the specific thing Riot is claiming patent on, describing a spectator mode that has an element described as follows: ...the spectator server is further configured to calculate an interest value associated with each avatar and direct the user's view to the avatar having the highest interest value. The online multiuser game system of claim 1, wherein the spectator server is further configured to monitor data affecting the interest values and shift the view to another avatar if it gains the highest interest value. You can read the full text of the claim on the online document. Based on the Reddit thread, and reading the documents, it seems that this claim is very specific, dealing with a camera which the game automatically moves to whichever character has the most interesting action going on. According to the second part of the claim, it will also monitor data on what is the most interesting, and shift its view accordingly. The impact of this patent on other games, particularly Blizzard games, is open for discussion. Should Blizzard wish to introduce a self-moving camera with a background AI that monitors the "interest levels" of the actions of specific avatars, then it seems that might be a problem. That is, of course, if the patent withstands further scrutiny and any cases brought against it.
