Thousands of Blizzard fans are anxiously awaiting the arrival of 2015's BlizzCon, the holy site of all things Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft. Less than a month stands between now and the November 6-7 event and Blizzard is wrapping up their final details. Today the schedule for BlizzCon 2015 was published and soon removed, listing panels, presentations and contests aplenty. Perhaps there are a few surprises hidden in the schedule too.

As for what isn't surprising, World of Warcraft's next big expansion, Legion, is looking like the star of the show. An hour and a half long “World and Content Overview” presentation for Legion fills the much vaunted slot directly after the BlizzCon 2015 opening ceremony. Three more panels and presentations for World of Warcraft will follow over the next 48 hours for a total of four and a half hours of Legion delight. None of Blizzard's other properties will command as much attention this BlizzCon. Not too surprising considering previous expansion Warlords of Draenor increased subscription rates by over 4 million users before peaking over 10 million (before rapidly declining over the past half of a year).

That doesn't mean Blizzard's other franchises will go ignored, however. Both Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft II will each have three events during the convention. Hearthstone and Blizzard's in-development shooter Overwatch come next with two events each. That leaves poor Diablo III with only a single “Dev Talk” panel at BlizzCon. Perhaps speculation that the game's next expansion could be revealed is premature?

BlizzCon 2014 Convention Center

While Blizzard has removed the schedule from the official BlizzCon website, MMO Champion was quick to collect its details:

Friday, November 6

  • Opening Ceremony
  • World of Warcraft: Legion - World and Content Overview
  • The Future of StarCraft II
  • Heroes of the Storm: Hero Design
  • World of Warcraft Cinematics - The Road to Legion
  • Hearthstone: What's Next
  • Diablo III Dev Talk
  • Overwatch: What's New
  • StarCraft II: Units - From Blueprints to Battlefield
  • Contest

Saturday, November 7

  • Hearthstone: Fireside Chat
  • StarCraft II Sounds from the Void
  • The World of Overwatch
  • Heroes of the Storm - State of the Game
  • World of Warcraft: Legion - Game Systems
  • World of Warcraft Q&A
  • Heroes of the Storm: Battlegrounds
  • Closing Ceremony

Of special note is the “Hearthstone: What's Next” presentation, the description of which refers to, “adventures yet to come.” Could the card game's next Adventure be revealed soon? Any other likely reveals or announcements are not readily apparent unfortunately, but all eyes will be on Overwatch's panels in the hopes of any pending beta start-up dates.

Fans will otherwise have to settle for everything else BlizzCon has to offer. That is, they can look forward to tons of information on upcoming releases like StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft: Legion, eSports tournaments aplenty, and all manner of Blizzard nerdery.

BlizzCon 2014 Main Presentation

The question remains as to why Blizzard has pulled the schedule so quickly after publication. Perhaps there are additional details hidden in the descriptions which are left to be found? Perhaps the schedule is simply unfinished and events could still shift around? Time will tell.

From an outside perspective, the hype for BlizzCon this year is surprisingly tame. Expansions for both World of Warcraft and StarCraft II are interesting, but perhaps not showstopping. Overwatch is highly anticipated, but Blizzard doesn't typically prize or market beta events – if a beta is even revealed this year. That leaves room for either a huge, surprise announcement or the void that the lack of an announcement would leave.

What should fans expect from BlizzCon 2015? Do they have an announcement hidden away? Do they need one?

BlizzCon 2015 is scheduled to begin on November 6 and run through the next day in Anaheim, California.

Source: MMO Champion