You could be forgiven for thinking the biggest Blizzard announcement of the year has come and gone with World of Warcraft: Legion at Gamescom. But the big questions remain unanswered: just who are this legion? Yes, almost certainly the Burning Legion, the innumerable army of demons which has a habit of invading Azeroth – but maybe also the mass of former subscribers Blizzard fantasize will one day show up for an expansion without upping sticks again the following week.
Any such meta-commentary will surely be tackled in one of the many panels of BlizzCon this year. And if not, we’re guaranteed actual revelations on the whole gang: WoW, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch.
The California convention is happening on the weekend of November 6th and 7th, and Blizzard are providing the now-traditional live HD coverage of the whole shebang – for a not insignificant fee of £24.99.
Blizzard will split their coverage between two streaming channels, each offering developer panels, interviews and community contests (the latter hosted by UN nerd culture representative Wil Wheaton).
“We’re thrilled to give even more people around the world a chance to be a part of BlizzCon with the Virtual Ticket,” said Blizzard monarch Mike Morhaime. “Whether they’re hearing cool news about their favorite game, cheering on the community contests, or getting behind-the-scenes insight from the developer panels, we want everyone at home to feel like they’re right there with us.”
You’ll get a “great seat” for the Saturday closing ceremony, on-demand replays and a selection of TBA in-game commemorative goodies. But it’s worth remembering that arguably the very best stuff – the announcement-stuffed opening ceremony, plus the StarCraft WCS, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm competitive finals – will be streamed for free on the BlizzCon site.
Have any of you lot attended from home before? How was that seat?