Blizzard's big show is just around the corner. With BlizzCon 2016 coming this weekend, on November 4th and 5th, stick with IGN to keep you up-to-date with all the news, previews, interviews and panel coverage you need -- keep up-to-date on IGN's BlizzCon hub page.
In addition to all our usual coverage of the gaming, entertainment and competitive scenes, IGN Access will give you the full BlizzCon experience. From the most awesome cosplay to the first reactions of new gameplay experiences, IGN's James Duggan and some exciting guest reporters will be your guides through BlizzCon 2016.
Here's what we expect to see, hope to play, and want to learn more about from BlizzCon 2016:
All eyes are on BlizzCon to at last pay off the months-long ARG teasing the reveal of new Overwatch hacker character Sombra. Considering art of the character just leaked, it's all but confirmed that Sombra will debut soon, and makes a lot of sense for her reveal to happen at Blizzard's big show.
The reveal of this new hero has been so hyped -- and her backstory extensively explored in the ARG experience -- that it would be a huge disappointment if she didn't get revealed as new Overwatch content. Considering the game is coming off its Halloween Terror event and we aren't expecting there to be any new expansion or sequel announcements, this might be the biggest news to be revealed for Overwatch players... or maybe Blizzard will have an even bigger surprise up their sleeves.
More and more signs seem to be pointing to the announcement of a new Diablo 3 class, the Necromancer, at BlizzCon 2016. Recently leaked art created by Blizzard art director John Mueller shows two very Diablo-looking characters standing above an army of the dead. This could also lead to news of a new Diablo expansion welcoming the new class into the game's world, but could also simply be added to the game in a patch.
With Legion's release two months ago reinvigorating World of Warcraft, it's almost a certainty that there won't be new expansion news for WoW at BlizzCon. What's more likely is the expansion's developers will tease what's coming in Patch 7.2. If it contains as much awesome content as Patch 7.1 did, everyone will be in for a treat.
There's also a good chance Blizzard might want to use BlizzCon as a chance to tout the success of Legion and break its own rule of releasing subscriber numbers, especially if it's done as well as it's seemed to.
Blizzard has been heavily teasing a new Hearthstone expansion, and chances are it will be focused on WoW's neutral goblin trading post Gadgetzan. Chances are more details on that expansion -- and more likely a full-blown announcement -- will happen during BlizzCon 2016's keynote.
BlizzCon also would be a great opportunity for Blizzard to explain what the heck was going on with that Hearthstone tweet after the announcement of Nintendo Switch. Was it just a joke, or are we really going to get Hearthstone on the new console?! We need to know! We're also hoping we get some more details and updates on future changes to the game, like whether we're going to get better Priest cards, more Rogue weapons (it's been too long!) and, of course, the implementation of Tournament and Co-op modes at long last.
Coming off the new mode Machines of War and recent addition of Overwatch's Zarya to Heroes of the Storm's roster, chances are the game's BlizzCon presentation will largely focus on teasing what's next for fans to be excited for. With Diablo and Starcraft maps out of the way, we can't help wonder if -- and hope for -- some of Overwatch's iconic maps or playable modes to find their way into the Nexus.
It seems unlikely we'll be getting a third Starcraft II expansion, and with Blizzard being especially reflective this year at BlizzCon, we're curious to see if the developer will look ahead to Starcraft's future. It's currently Blizzard's least active title, so hopefully some clues as to where Blizzard is hoping to grow the franchise will come out of the latest convention -- and any details on how Blizzard is hoping to spice up the current game.
It doesn't look like there will be any huge new game news coming out of BlizzCon, but could Blizzard surprise us with the announcement of Diablo 4? There have been rumors swirling that a fourth Diablo game is in the works, seemingly further confirmed by a job listing for a new Diablo franchise game director.
Diablo III has changed vastly in the four years since its 2012 release, and it would be smart for a new Diablo title to come out embracing everything Blizzard has learned from the previous game. With 2016 also marking the 20th anniversary of the Diablo series (and 25th anniversary of Blizzard), now would be an especially timely announcement. Even if there isn't a full fledged game reveal, maybe we'll be lucky enough to get some sort of teaser proving that the developer's eyes are on the future.
Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.
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