For Blizzard Entertainment, 2014 has proven to be a vital year. Up until now, World of Warcraft‘s subscriber numbers had been steadily waning, and with a lack of new IP, many mistakingly assumed that the best days for the esteemed developer were firmly behind us. But at this year’s annual BlizzCon event, the publisher effectively silenced the naysayers with a string of new content for StarCraft 2, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and an all-new IP in team-based shooter, Overwatch.
It was undeniably a bold showcase from Blizzard as it looked to outline its vision for the future; one that won’t include the recently cancelled MMO, Titan. But amidst all of that, the publisher also made some time for World of Warcraft ahead of its ten-year anniversary by releasing a documentary on the seminal multiplayer title. The extensive clip, which you can check out above, essentially outlines the rise of WoW as we know it today and the various creative talent that influenced and moulded it into the genre-defining IP we know and love.
Elsewhere in the event, Blizzard also unveiled the first expansion for the wonderfully addictive card game, Hearthstone. Entitled Goblins vs. Gnomes, the content pack has been billed as a true game-changer for the popular title — one that will hope to lure players back down the rabbit hole of battling minions and malevolent spells.
Here’s a description of the DLC via Blizzard:
“Goblins vs Gnomes is going to turn Hearthstone on its head,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “It introduces a ton of new cards with all-new options for decks and strategies, and we can’t wait to see all the crazy combinations players come up with.”
Circling back to World of Warcraft, we understand that the game’s highly-anticipated expansion, Warlords of Draenor, will release on November 13th.
