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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.
StarCraft Universe reaches its funding goal on Kickstarter
There are a lot of people who would very much like to see an MMO in the StarCraft universe. StarCraft Universe isn't quite the same thing, but it manages to turn StarCraft II into something very close to an MMO. And with just one day left to go on its Kickstarter project, it has hit its funding goal, ensuring that StarCraft II players can turn the real-time strategy game into a third-person MMO-style game at will. So how much does the mod actually contain? Eight classes, vehicle gameplay, customized models, a variety of boss encounters tuned for various difficulties, in-game strategy databases, a fully voiced plotline, and crafting mechanics. There are also single-player and multiplayer components for anyone who wants to experience the game solo, and the entire project can be experienced for free without a need to buy StarCraft II. If you're interested, there's still some time left to toss money into the Kickstarter and pick up a few extra rewards.
IGN Pro League technology purchased by Blizzard
Do you like eSports? Blizzard Entertainment clearly does, as the company has just purchased the technology and assets of IGN Pro League. Several employees came along with the acquisition, including former IPL general manager David Ting. The hard assets will be used to promote various events centering around Blizzard's online games, while the staff members are joining Blizzard's internal eSports teams according to initial reports. Needless to say, this marks the end of IPL's competitive gaming coverage, which has in the past included games such as League of Legends and StarCraft II. The brand does not go with these employees or assets, meaning that last weekend's $100,000 Shootmania launch event was the final broadcast for the IPL. It remains to be seen what will be launched from the expanded Blizzard team, but representatives from the company were quite clear in stating that this is a move meant to promote the company's online and eSports presence.
Blizzard giving StarCraft 2 players 30 days of WoW
Blizzard has quietly begun giving players with active StarCraft 2 accounts free 30-day WoW accounts. Verified by several sites and lots of SC2 players, Blizzard just flipped the WoW switch on many players' Battle.net accounts, inviting them to come join the world of Azeroth. Battle.net is a great asset to Blizzard, as it allows the company to easily facilitate subscriptions from all its games and create potential customers to its other games through the common account. Giving away WoW subscriptions is an easy and practically costless move that might get even more people hooked. If you know any StarCraft 2 players who haven't set foot in Azeroth yet, maybe it's time that they gave the game a whirl. WoW Patch 4.1 is on the PTR, and WoW Insider has all the latest news for you -- from previews of the revamped Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub to new valor point mechanics and new archaeology items.
Ask Massively: It's my birthday and I'll devote a column title to it if I want to edition
Yes, 28 years ago, something very special (to me, anyway) happened. That means that while I'm going to spend the day on my usual cocktail of whatever the heck I do, I get the opportunity to make Ask Massively's opening even more of a non sequitor than it normally is. Here, have a screenshot from one of the worst-animated episodes in all of the original Transformers cartoon. I swear that looks bad even in a still frame. It was either this shot or the one of Blaster and Ultra Magnus getting married. (That's what it looks like, anyway.) Now that I've gotten that out of my system for another 10 minutes or so, we can move on to this week's column, which is sadly devoid of giant robots. It does have questions about DC Universe Online and the sad story of World of Starcraft's rise and subsequent fall, so I still get to indulge in things that I like. And birthday or not, questions can be left in the comment field or mailed along to ask@massively.com.
StarCraft II turned into World of StarCraft by enterprising fan
World of StarCraft is, by all indications, high on the list of desirable games that have never been announced or even hinted at. It's certainly a universe ripe for development, and it's not as if Blizzard doesn't know anything about running an MMO. But why wait for an official release when you can put the game together yourself? That's what's behind the rather intuitively named project making the rounds today -- an effort to use the powerful map editor in StarCraft II to create a full MMO within the existing game's framework. While development is still in the very early stages, and of course the project is wholly unofficial, it's a fascinating use of player-edited gameplay as well as a display of just how much people want to play in the world as an MMO. Take a look at the trailer past the cut to see the surprising amount of work that's been done on converting the RTS into a more familiar genre -- although bear in mind that the official forums have been getting rather hammered before you go nuts.
BlizzCon 2008 beta codes now being accepted
Our sister site Joystiq pointed out last night to their readers that the BlizzCon 2008 beta codes were now being accepted, and we thought it prudent to pass the news along to you.You can enter the code over at http://www.blizzcon.com/beta and enjoy the satisfaction that you'll get knowing in a few months (or less?) you'll be playing the beta of StarCraft II.The code took me a few others on staff a couple tries to enter. 'B' looks like '8', and 'S' looks like '8'. You'll probably need to try a few different permutations of the code until you get it right. When you enter the right code, you'll get an email 'confirmation' that really just tells you that you've entered the key successfully. You don't have to do anything further. The email is a little oddly worded though, and doesn't look like your typical Blizzard email. So we've posted a copy of it after the break for folks.BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd of this year. We'll be there in force again. Should be a blast!
