Blizzard has released its schedule for BlizzCon 2019 amidst ongoing #BoycottBlizzard controversy.
It’s been a rough year for Blizzard. First, there were the company-wide layoffs earlier this year, then there were reports of canceled projects and employee turmoil. Then most recently the whole Hong Kong Hearthstone debacle that blew up so spectacularly that US Congresspeople even sent letters to Blizzard asking them to stop supporting an autocratic government just to make a buck.
None of which did anything to improve Blizzard’s look after the Diablo Immortal affair from last year’s BlizzCon. At BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard has a lot of ground to make up.
And now we have a good idea of just how they plan to do it thanks to the recently released BlizzCon 2019 schedule. As usual, things start off on November 1st at 11 AM PST and continue to November 2nd’s closing ceremonies at 10:30 PM. The opening keynote will last a whole hour and will likely provide the first details of just what we can expect in terms of new game announcements.
Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 are both rumored to be announced at BlizzCon, with some publications going as far as calling it almost a sure thing. We gotta say, it would make sense as Blizzard needs a big win, and we can’t think of any bigger wins that Diablo 4 or Overwatch 2 being announced at the same time.
That said, Blizzard does have other games they need to talk about. Heroes of the Storm will get an update at 3:15 PST on November 1st, with Hearthstone to follow at 5:15 PM. World of Warcraft gets an update the next day at 11:15 AM and Overwatch at 1:15 PM.
Warcraft III: Reforged, the remaster of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, gets an update at 3:15 PM on Sunday to let folks know about Blizzard's latest nostalgic cash-grab, and there will be the ongoing Overwatch World Cup and Hearthstone Global finals to look forward to all weekend.
The big question is whether it will even matter. Blizzard has burnt a lot of goodwill over the past year, and even if BlizzCon goes perfectly, the Irvine, California-based developer just isn't the same company that gamers fell in love with over the past few decades. We'll have to see if Blizzard can turn things around this year or continue their slow slide into obscurity.
Source: Blizzard