About 12 billion hours of Blizzard games were played and 50 million new players joined the Blizzard community this year, according to Blizzard President Mike Ybarra, who posted an update reflecting back on 2022.
Dec 21, 2022 at 20:21
by Staff
As was was expected, the US Federal Trade Commission has now voted and filed a suit to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, saying the deal would harm competition. As reported by Bloomberg, the commission voted 3-1 on the matter and already filed the suit. The proceedings usually take from several months to a year to resolve, and here's what Holly Vedova, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition had to say:
Dec 08, 2022 at 19:51
by Starym
Our Mythic+ guru Petko is now live on our Twitch channel talking about Dragonflight! Join us to learn about everything you need to know to prepare for the new expansion!
Nov 27, 2022 at 17:59
by Staff
Here's some potentially bad news for the sale of Activision Blizzard to Microsoft, as Politico is reporting that it is likely the US FTC will be filing a lawsuit to stop the acquisition - based on three sources "familiar with the matter". A lawsuit could postpone the deal's timing and even endanger it altogether, regardless of its result.
Nov 24, 2022 at 01:41
by Starym
A pretty big bombshell was dropped a couple of days ago, as Blizzard announced the end of their partnership with NetEase and a possible end of their games being available in China. We've seen the official posts and responses, but there's a lot of context missing there. Luckily for us, however, well known Chinese WoW community figure NasDa has jumped in to explain things and add some new information and even rumors.
Nov 19, 2022 at 18:46
by Starym
Update: there's now also a very interesting comment from the NetEase Global Investment and Partnership President, which you can find at the bottom of the article.
We now also have two NetEase messages to their Blizzard game players, detailing exactly what will happen on January 24th, when their license ends, from the Battle.net client being shut down, to support of new releases before that date, what will happen to character data and more.
Thanks to Neo once again for translating the below statement.
Nov 17, 2022 at 06:12
by Staff
NetEase has now responded to Blizzard's press release about the suspension of their game services in China and the end of their licensing agreement with NetEase, as reported by the Kechuangban Daily, via CaiLianShe (财联社).
Nov 17, 2022 at 04:18
by Staff
Update: NetEase have now issued statements to their players, explaining what exactly will be happening in the next months and after the license expires.
Blizzard have announced that they will be suspending "most Blizzard game services in mainland China", as they did not renew their licensing agreement with NetEase. This includes World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Warcraft III: Reforged, Overwatch, the StarCraft series, Diablo III, and Heroes of the Storm.
Originally spotted by chaud on MMO Champion.
Nov 17, 2022 at 02:15
by Staff
Activision Blizzard shared their financial results for Q3 of 2022, with stronger than expected earnings, an expectation of a mid-2023 completion of the pending Microsoft acquisition and more. There wasn't an earnings call this time around, with just a quote from CEO Bobby Kotick addressing the dedication of the teams in the company and the acquisition.
Nov 08, 2022 at 01:02
by Staff
The latest addition to the Overwatch 2 hero lineup, the tank Ramattra, has been announced and you can check out his origin story video below, as well as read more on his backstory. He will arrive with Season 2 starting on December 6th.
Nov 05, 2022 at 01:55
by Staff
The Overwatch development team has posted a blog with more details about post-launch updates on gameplay, maps, and competitive.
Oct 14, 2022 at 11:48
by Staff
Blizzard have published the latest Overwatch animated short, featuring the new hero, Kiriko! Coming in at almost 10 minutes it's not quite "short", but it's another quality hero intro, so let's take a look.
Oct 08, 2022 at 01:49
by Staff
Blizzard launched some Overwatch 2 merchandise alongside the game. Check out what's new on the Blizzard Gear Store!
Oct 07, 2022 at 11:30
by Staff
Blizzard commented on the recent Overwatch 2 launch issues, as well as detailed the fixes they've already made to combat them, fixes that are still coming, and more, from removing SMS Protect for a majority of existing players, to the steps taken to address the queueing issues and missing items, and more.
Oct 06, 2022 at 02:13
by Staff
Overwatch 2 is now live and the game is available as a free to play experience for all players.
Oct 04, 2022 at 19:09
by Staff
Overwatch 2 is arriving in less than a week and we have a brand new trailer to check out, as well as the launch timing and checklists for what to do if you're a new or existing player!
Sep 27, 2022 at 19:34
by Staff
Microsoft posted a blog post sharing their view on the Activision Blizzard acquisition. They also revealed that Overwatch, Diablo, Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Starcraft, are coming to the Game Pass.
Sep 01, 2022 at 14:17
by Stan
An unconfirmed internal spreadsheet with release dates of multiple Activision Blizzard titles including Dragonflight and Diablo 4 pre-purchase took Reddit by storm today.
Aug 16, 2022 at 20:20
by Stan
Blizzard will debut new merchandise at San Diego Comic-Con. For those attending the event in person, make sure to check out Booth #140. The products will also be available for purchase on the Blizzard Gear Store later this year.
Jul 21, 2022 at 07:14
by Staff
Overwatch 2 Beta is now over. The Overwatch team will continue to balance heroes based on Beta feedback. Over the coming weeks, they will share more details about the game as we approach launch on October 4, 2022.
Jul 21, 2022 at 06:53
by Staff
With the first week of Overwatch 2 Beta behind us, the developers shared their thoughts on the Mercy and Symmetra changes, Junker Queen and queue times.
Jul 08, 2022 at 17:38
by Staff
For the next five weeks, you can win $25 Battle.net Balance by following Blizzard on social media. Find out how to enter the giveaway for a chance to win!
Jul 05, 2022 at 21:14
by Staff
Blizzard Entertainment has acquired Spellbreak Development Studio Proletariat to beef up the staff on World of Warcraft. Its team of 100 people will start working on WoW, including the Dragonflight expansion coming later this year, according to Venture Beat.
Jun 29, 2022 at 15:11
by Staff
In this post, we're looking at how to find out you've been invited to a Beta!
Jun 26, 2022 at 14:08
by Stan
Junker Queen joins the Hero roster in Overwatch 2 as the newest tank! Here's the official preview of the new Hero and her kit.
Jun 22, 2022 at 15:13
by Staff
Blizzard have summarized all the big news that came out of the Overwatch 2 reveal livestream event, including:
Jun 18, 2022 at 07:49
by Staff
Here's the new animated short introducing the new OW2 hero Junker Queen!
Jun 16, 2022 at 19:21
by Staff
Blizzard have announced that the Overwatch 2 beta is arriving very soon, on June 28th, featuring the Junker Queen hero and a new map! Beta sign-ups will be open this Thursday, when we will also be getting a lot more info about the game in the reveal stream, as well as a new animated short.
Jun 14, 2022 at 19:20
by Staff
Blizzard have announced the launch/Early Access date for the PvP part of Overwatch 2, and it's October 4th! On top of that the game is going to be free to play (at least the PvP aspect of it) and we're getting a full reveal event on June 16th as well, which will go into the live service and seasonal nature of the game, as well as reveal the new Junker Queen hero! There will also be a free Founder's Pack for owners for Overwatch 1, with skins and a surprise that is yet to be revealed.
Jun 12, 2022 at 19:11
by Staff
We have new information coming out of a GamerBraves interview with Art director Jeremy Collins and Senior Software Engineer Andy Lim, as they explain that the game will not feature loot boxes or NFTs. Many players were concerned as the game wasn't available in Belgium, where there are strict laws aginst loot boxes and similar mechanics, but with Blizzard's clarification that may change before it is released.
May 04, 2022 at 18:41
by Staff