Anyone have any predictions for this year's Blizzcon?
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Only one I can make right now is that they will officially, officially announce Diablo IV. Likely only a title teaser and no real info. Just something to help sidestep the fiasco of last year.
This one isn't really a prediction exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised if they leave out the Diablo mobile game from the big main presentation and just have it on the show floor.
fake edit- Actually maybe possibly no Diablo Immortal at all. Blizz have been real, real quiet about it since it was announced last year and the last news on it came from August where it sounds like it isn't releasing anytime this year even though NetEase said it was finished back in March. Some speculate it may have been cancelled others suspect they could be reworking the whole thing. The latter wouldn't surprise me.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
The wow expansion talk will be be on how we should look forward to the new pathfinder and the rep grinds for any new races. I’m joking of course after the Diablo fiasco last blizzcon I’m sure anything the do will be heavily curated and they will be going for maximum fluff questions.
This is the time they would traditionally be announcing the next expansion anyway, after the previous expansion's been out for a year and the next one is probably a year away. It's got nothing to do with how BFA is doing. Unless they decide to take a break year for some reason, which they've never done before. It's been one expansion every ~2 years since BC.
Whatever happened to the War3 remaster? Did that get released yet?
If I didn't know better I'd be worried about the remaster, but it seems like such an straightforward task--the game was already in a 3D engine, at the very least--for the slow progress and lack of releases (at least to me). I guess all the internal shakeups at Blizzard?
I’m not expecting OW2 to encroach on OW1 as a first person team shooter. I’m hoping it is something like a third person story based adventure game instead.
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-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
I’m not expecting that much of a departure.
What I’m expecting is Overwatch with those seasonal team PvE missions built in as an actual game type.
I'm fully expecting overwatch 2 to be "the same game again but we're continuing content updates in this version instead of the old one because we want you to pay for it again"
I'm fully expecting overwatch 2 to be "the same game again but we're continuing content updates in this version instead of the old one because we want you to pay for it again"
"Now with even more limited time exclusive skins that you'll never see again, so open those wallets you FOMO whales!"
I'm fully expecting overwatch 2 to be "the same game again but we're continuing content updates in this version instead of the old one because we want you to pay for it again"
Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if Activision was pushing for as frequent replacements as Blizzard can produce. I could see them get into a 3 year rhythm with this and Diablo.. just dunno what they'l fit into the third year, as RTS's seem pretty dead right now.
I'm fully expecting overwatch 2 to be "the same game again but we're continuing content updates in this version instead of the old one because we want you to pay for it again"
Nothing to me screamed "Overwatch 2" more than the game coming out on Switch. Unless they're going to pull a TF2 and release Overwatch on Apple.
I wonder (and this is entirely my own pondering, and has no official source or credence at all) if the reason we haven't seen or heard any news about Reforged in a while is because Blizzard took a lot of their art back to the drawing board. The new character models that they showed weren't bad, and they were certainly a cut above the original game's artwork. But at the same time, they looked off.
It's hard to vocalize exactly what the problem was with the artwork, especially since experiencing art is so highly subjective and one man's art is another man's trash. But anyway, there just felt to be something off about the new art that was showcased at last year's Blizzcon and I'm wondering if they didn't have to tweak or rework a bunch of their new art assets, and that's why there has been total radio silence for almost 10 months.
I predict that the core PvP mode of Overwatch 2 will be backwards compatible with OW1. It'll add a whole new PvE element which is separate, and maybe new heroes become OW2-only, but OW1 players can still play in the same game as them. Dividing your playerbase is never a good thing, and they've been putting too much work into the engine features etc in OW1 for me to think they're abandoning it.
I predict that the core PvP mode of Overwatch 2 will be backwards compatible with OW1. It'll add a whole new PvE element which is separate, and maybe new heroes become OW2-only, but OW1 players can still play in the same game as them. Dividing your playerbase is never a good thing, and they've been putting too much work into the engine features etc in OW1 for me to think they're abandoning it.
Under normal circumstances I can certainly see Activision not caring about any of that and CoDing Overwatch and segregating each title, they know people will buy it "because Blizzard" regardless of Blizzard's relatively low reputation recently(hell it doesn't stop EA/Activision's sales and I'd say their online reputations are still way lower).
But CoD doesn't have a multi-million dollar esports scene invested in it either though, which I don't think Activision would be willing to risk burning. I think the official OW League stream still pulls 100k viewers pretty easy?
I predict that the core PvP mode of Overwatch 2 will be backwards compatible with OW1. It'll add a whole new PvE element which is separate, and maybe new heroes become OW2-only, but OW1 players can still play in the same game as them. Dividing your playerbase is never a good thing, and they've been putting too much work into the engine features etc in OW1 for me to think they're abandoning it.
Under normal circumstances I can certainly see Activision not caring about any of that and CoDing Overwatch and segregating each title, they know people will buy it "because Blizzard" regardless of Blizzard's relatively low reputation recently(hell it doesn't stop EA/Activision's sales and I'd say their online reputations are still way lower).
But CoD doesn't have a multi-million dollar esports scene invested in it either though, which I don't think Activision would be willing to risk burning. I think the official OW League stream still pulls 100k viewers pretty easy?
There is no distinction between Blizzard and Activision anymore. Activision-Blizzard is the company that's been running Overwatch from the start, and they haven't shown any sign of screwing over customers so far.
I mean, Activision-Blizzard is the parent company.
The Blizzard Entertainment home offices are still responsible for the day-to-day, and yeah, they have handled Overwatch very well. Jeff Kaplan is a hero. People are very quick to place blame for any unpopular decisions or game mechanics, but Activision-Blizzard is just a strawman. If you look at how Overwatch has been handled compared to CoDblops 4, it is clear that studios are fairly autonomous. Yes, Overwatch has loot boxes, but they have very clearly been cosmetic only the entire time. Blizzard has never sold pay2win items in their loot boxes. CoDblops 4 is selling guns, and all sorts of gameplay advantages in their microtransactions.
That fact alone means you can't just blame the nebulous idea of "Activision-Blizzard" for things, because two studios, both with competitive online shooters, are handing their in-game purchases in entirely different ways. Blizzard is not being predatory or greedy as fuck. Call of Duty is.
I'm not saying there aren't problems with "modern Blizz" because there clearly are. They have had a culture shift and a priority shift from the days of yore, back when Blizzard was pretty much synonymous with gaming perfection. But I think those shifts stop with the Blizzard home office, and not with some nebulous idea of "Activision Blizzard." The entire games industry is shifting, and there are very few (if any) pillars of quality anymore. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.
I'm not saying there aren't problems with "modern Blizz" because there clearly are. They have had a culture shift and a priority shift from the days of yore, back when Blizzard was pretty much synonymous with gaming perfection. But I think those shifts stop with the Blizzard home office, and not with some nebulous idea of "Activision Blizzard." The entire games industry is shifting, and there are very few (if any) pillars of quality anymore. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.
Blizzard has seen high-level turn-over fairly recently. The shift in culture we are seeming to see is probably related to all this.
The fact that different games within Activision-Blizzard are handled very differently suggests that there isn't an Eye of Sauron pushing anti-consumer policies on all their teams. We don't know how the command structure works, so all we can do is observe the way things are done on any given game. Whatever the politics, I think the Overwatch team has shown that they're able to get things done in a reasonably consumer friendly way.
I do think they deserve some criticism for the loot boxes, which are scummy whether they affect gameplay or not IMO. I'm also disappointed with how they've mostly given up on doing new events. So I hope they can improve their monetization and content pipelines in the next game. But even if you look at it in a pessimistic light, I think it would be a mistake for them to do a clean break. Also I think Jeff said explicitly in a recent interview that OW1 has 2~ years of content still in the works IIRC.
I could totally see a Hearthstone port to the Switch being announced. Plus whatever the next expansion is. That’s basically a freebee though.
And Dibbles4, sure, could be talked about although I assume it’s probably too early still for a release date.
It might mean that Bobby Kotick might get to buy one less dozen yachts this month, but I wonder if they might try something as a “BFA Apology Hour” announcement to try to buy some good will. Like say, “you get the next expansion for free if you own BFA.”
I’d like to be proven wrong, but I doubt we’d hear anything about the Starcraft universe except for maybe a mobile game spinoff or HOTS character.
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
The fact that different games within Activision-Blizzard are handled very differently suggests that there isn't an Eye of Sauron pushing anti-consumer policies on all their teams. We don't know how the command structure works, so all we can do is observe the way things are done on any given game. Whatever the politics, I think the Overwatch team has shown that they're able to get things done in a reasonably consumer friendly way.
I do think they deserve some criticism for the loot boxes, which are scummy whether they affect gameplay or not IMO. I'm also disappointed with how they've mostly given up on doing new events. So I hope they can improve their monetization and content pipelines in the next game. But even if you look at it in a pessimistic light, I think it would be a mistake for them to do a clean break. Also I think Jeff said explicitly in a recent interview that OW1 has 2~ years of content still in the works IIRC.
I mean, maybe OW2 is 2 years away.
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Warlock82Never pet a burning dogRegistered Userregular
edited September 2019
I think we will see Diablo 4 for sure. Like you guys said, probably just some kind of teaser or something, but it's possible Blizzard shifted some resources towards it to blow that game out too after the mess that was last Blizzcon. I'd say if Diablo 4 isn't there Blizzard has become completely tone deaf. Even I don't think they're *that* stupid though. And if they were actually smart, yeah, they'd blow it out - playable demos and all. That would recapture a lot of good will towards the company.
Overwatch 2 is a tricky one for me. My gut says no way, absolutely not. But then my practical side says there have been leaks... a decent number of them.. And if there's stuff to leak, there's stuff to show most likely (plus, IMO, on average your leakers tend to be from the lower rung of employees - testers, social media, etc. The people who would be working towards getting stuff ready if it's gonna be shown off soon). On top of that, Overwatch is slowly dying an agonizing death. They gotta do something to really revitalize the franchise soon.
So I dunno. I give it like a 50/50 shot. Maaaaybe leaning towards yes. (A D4/OW2 Blizzcon would be a good way to rebound from last year's disaster)
Oh, and yeah, I guess WoW expansion. They've been pretty consistent about their every other year cycle. The wrinkle this time though is BFA being massively unpopular coupled with WoW Classic's wild success. I heard a rumor - dunno if true - that Blizzard was essentially pitting the two teams against each other. With basically the idea being if WoW Classic outperforms BFA, that team is taking over WoW retail. Like I said, don't know if this is true but it sounds like something that *could* be true. Would love to see it - I can't stand Ion and I think he makes terrible design decisions. The game has been getting less and less fun for me to the point I *still* haven't bothered to touch BFA. (I'll be honest, I played the demo at the Blizzcon it was announced and it was so underwhelming it's left a sour taste in my mouth ever since..)
So all that being said, if that kind of thing really is the case, or even if Blizzard is planning on capitalizing on Classic's success, I could see a disruption in the typical expansion announcement formula, either to prop up some kind of future plans for Classic (or like, TBC servers or whatever) or to retool whatever they've been working on with the new expansion. *shrug*
Speaking of D4, my idea is still to make it a prequel. Set it during the age of legends, during the time of Tal Rasha, and Bul Kathos, and all of the original heroes/nephalem from lore. We've already killed Diablo 3 times in "current times" and he's really dead this time, for real guys. I mean it.
So set the game in the past. That's my solution.
Otherwise we're gonna end up with another Black Soulstone scenario which never made much sense. Only next time it won't be the Black Soulstone. Next time it will be the prismatic soulstone, cut from the core of the earth, or some such nonsense. So just skip all that justification for how Diablo is back again, and just set the game in the past.
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
edited September 2019
Just have Diablo stay dead. It's a franchise name now, don't need to have a character by that name.
Like it's the same problem as every time they try to "put the war back in Warcraft". No, just, please stop. It's just a name. Please stop.
They kind of already missed the boat there by explicitly saying that Diablo is loose again at the end of RoS. But yeah they need a soft reboot or something, like either a prequel or distant future story. The state of the world post-RoS is too silly with all these outrageously powerful demigods running around who are stronger than all the Evils combined.
The end of Reaper of Souls definitely suggested that the next stage in the story would be the Nephalim themselves being the problem. That we would, in some way, become the enemy. Or at least, corrupted.
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Adibags sorts them by type again after lumping them together.
It wasn't, City actually predates WoW by half a year.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
Those are already available on Blizzard's website. https://us.battle.net/account/download/?show=classic
This one isn't really a prediction exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised if they leave out the Diablo mobile game from the big main presentation and just have it on the show floor.
fake edit- Actually maybe possibly no Diablo Immortal at all. Blizz have been real, real quiet about it since it was announced last year and the last news on it came from August where it sounds like it isn't releasing anytime this year even though NetEase said it was finished back in March. Some speculate it may have been cancelled others suspect they could be reworking the whole thing. The latter wouldn't surprise me.
Whatever happened to the War3 remaster? Did that get released yet?
Every question during panels will be a thinly veiled attempt to become the next meme.
What I’m expecting is Overwatch with those seasonal team PvE missions built in as an actual game type.
"Now with even more limited time exclusive skins that you'll never see again, so open those wallets you FOMO whales!"
Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if Activision was pushing for as frequent replacements as Blizzard can produce. I could see them get into a 3 year rhythm with this and Diablo.. just dunno what they'l fit into the third year, as RTS's seem pretty dead right now.
Nothing to me screamed "Overwatch 2" more than the game coming out on Switch. Unless they're going to pull a TF2 and release Overwatch on Apple.
It's hard to vocalize exactly what the problem was with the artwork, especially since experiencing art is so highly subjective and one man's art is another man's trash. But anyway, there just felt to be something off about the new art that was showcased at last year's Blizzcon and I'm wondering if they didn't have to tweak or rework a bunch of their new art assets, and that's why there has been total radio silence for almost 10 months.
Under normal circumstances I can certainly see Activision not caring about any of that and CoDing Overwatch and segregating each title, they know people will buy it "because Blizzard" regardless of Blizzard's relatively low reputation recently(hell it doesn't stop EA/Activision's sales and I'd say their online reputations are still way lower).
But CoD doesn't have a multi-million dollar esports scene invested in it either though, which I don't think Activision would be willing to risk burning. I think the official OW League stream still pulls 100k viewers pretty easy?
There is no distinction between Blizzard and Activision anymore. Activision-Blizzard is the company that's been running Overwatch from the start, and they haven't shown any sign of screwing over customers so far.
The Blizzard Entertainment home offices are still responsible for the day-to-day, and yeah, they have handled Overwatch very well. Jeff Kaplan is a hero. People are very quick to place blame for any unpopular decisions or game mechanics, but Activision-Blizzard is just a strawman. If you look at how Overwatch has been handled compared to CoDblops 4, it is clear that studios are fairly autonomous. Yes, Overwatch has loot boxes, but they have very clearly been cosmetic only the entire time. Blizzard has never sold pay2win items in their loot boxes. CoDblops 4 is selling guns, and all sorts of gameplay advantages in their microtransactions.
That fact alone means you can't just blame the nebulous idea of "Activision-Blizzard" for things, because two studios, both with competitive online shooters, are handing their in-game purchases in entirely different ways. Blizzard is not being predatory or greedy as fuck. Call of Duty is.
I'm not saying there aren't problems with "modern Blizz" because there clearly are. They have had a culture shift and a priority shift from the days of yore, back when Blizzard was pretty much synonymous with gaming perfection. But I think those shifts stop with the Blizzard home office, and not with some nebulous idea of "Activision Blizzard." The entire games industry is shifting, and there are very few (if any) pillars of quality anymore. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.
Blizzard has seen high-level turn-over fairly recently. The shift in culture we are seeming to see is probably related to all this.
I do think they deserve some criticism for the loot boxes, which are scummy whether they affect gameplay or not IMO. I'm also disappointed with how they've mostly given up on doing new events. So I hope they can improve their monetization and content pipelines in the next game. But even if you look at it in a pessimistic light, I think it would be a mistake for them to do a clean break. Also I think Jeff said explicitly in a recent interview that OW1 has 2~ years of content still in the works IIRC.
And Dibbles4, sure, could be talked about although I assume it’s probably too early still for a release date.
It might mean that Bobby Kotick might get to buy one less dozen yachts this month, but I wonder if they might try something as a “BFA Apology Hour” announcement to try to buy some good will. Like say, “you get the next expansion for free if you own BFA.”
I’d like to be proven wrong, but I doubt we’d hear anything about the Starcraft universe except for maybe a mobile game spinoff or HOTS character.
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
I mean, maybe OW2 is 2 years away.
Overwatch 2 is a tricky one for me. My gut says no way, absolutely not. But then my practical side says there have been leaks... a decent number of them.. And if there's stuff to leak, there's stuff to show most likely (plus, IMO, on average your leakers tend to be from the lower rung of employees - testers, social media, etc. The people who would be working towards getting stuff ready if it's gonna be shown off soon). On top of that, Overwatch is slowly dying an agonizing death. They gotta do something to really revitalize the franchise soon.
So I dunno. I give it like a 50/50 shot. Maaaaybe leaning towards yes. (A D4/OW2 Blizzcon would be a good way to rebound from last year's disaster)
Oh, and yeah, I guess WoW expansion. They've been pretty consistent about their every other year cycle. The wrinkle this time though is BFA being massively unpopular coupled with WoW Classic's wild success. I heard a rumor - dunno if true - that Blizzard was essentially pitting the two teams against each other. With basically the idea being if WoW Classic outperforms BFA, that team is taking over WoW retail. Like I said, don't know if this is true but it sounds like something that *could* be true. Would love to see it - I can't stand Ion and I think he makes terrible design decisions. The game has been getting less and less fun for me to the point I *still* haven't bothered to touch BFA. (I'll be honest, I played the demo at the Blizzcon it was announced and it was so underwhelming it's left a sour taste in my mouth ever since..)
So all that being said, if that kind of thing really is the case, or even if Blizzard is planning on capitalizing on Classic's success, I could see a disruption in the typical expansion announcement formula, either to prop up some kind of future plans for Classic (or like, TBC servers or whatever) or to retool whatever they've been working on with the new expansion. *shrug*
Hopefully I get to play D4 at a demo station. That would be sweet.
So set the game in the past. That's my solution.
Otherwise we're gonna end up with another Black Soulstone scenario which never made much sense. Only next time it won't be the Black Soulstone. Next time it will be the prismatic soulstone, cut from the core of the earth, or some such nonsense. So just skip all that justification for how Diablo is back again, and just set the game in the past.
Like it's the same problem as every time they try to "put the war back in Warcraft". No, just, please stop. It's just a name. Please stop.