BlizzConline 2021: Opening ceremonies – WoW Chains of Domination, Burning Crusade Classic confirmed

By
Eliot Lefebvre
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Just because the world is shrouded in death doesn’t mean that we have to give up our beloved conventions. I mean, it does mean that, but we can always adapt with a bit of online technology! This is all the roundabout way to introduce you to the opening ceremonies of BlizzConline 2021, the annual showcase of Blizzard’s games and what’s coming next for them… especially when it comes to the major keynote speech that kicks off the festivities.

A keynote that has now been pretty well spoiled thanks to Blizzard’s own press kit leaks, so that’s awesome!

We obviously don’t know exactly what the opening ceremony will look like this year, of course, because we’ve never had one of these online before. But it’s a safe bet that it’ll contain the expected news for World of Warcraft, plus highlights from Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, and more. And just as always, we’re liveblogging our way through the event, with our ongoing blog taking place down in the comments while the main post is updated with salient data points as we go. So get ready to follow along: The keynote begins at 5 p.m. EST.

BlizzConline 2021
Notes from the keynote
Here we go.

5:05 – J. Allen Brack onstage to talk up the 30th anniversary, the difficulty of pulling everything off during the pandemic.

5:10 – Blizzard Arcade Collection announced. Original games are available in 17 languages, have modern functionality, but are preserved otherwise as originally launched. Purchasing the anniversary pass gives it to you for free. Games include. The Lost Vikings, Rock N Roll Racing, and Blackthorne

5:15 – John Hight and World of Warcraft are up. Chains of Domination officially announced.

5:22 – Holly Longdale is up to talk Classic. As leaked, WoW Classic Burning Crusade is indeed happening. Longdale says that players will be given a chance to pick whether to move on to BC or stay in Vanilla. Beta “soon.”

5:30 – Hearthstone time. Ben Lee is discussing Hearthstone’s Classic format and how the core set will replace the old basic set. Finally, the first expansion of the year is called Forged in the Barrens. There are freebie cards for playing today, so make sure you log in and claim them. Hearthstone: Mercenaries is also due out this year; you’ll be building a team of iconic heroes and villains in tactical RPG-like gameplay.

5:38 – Diablo IV is up. Luis Barriga previewing. The trailer homes in on the Rogue class.

Not much on Diablo Immortal here, huh. But as rumored, Diablo II Resurrected is happening. Expect remastered visuals and audio on PC/console with “cross-progression.”

Nothing of note for Overwatch 2, just a recommendation to check out that panel.

All done here! We’re moving on to the next post to cover the WoW deep-dive panels. We’ll have posts up on the Diablo panel shortly too!
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