Each year, Blizzard fans and employees gather in Anaheim, CA to celebrate the developer's stable of games and get a sneak back at what is planned for the coming year. Although Blizzard has seen a record year with surge in World of Warcraft subscribers thanks to a successful WoW Classic launch, the developer is also in hot water with some fans (and some members of Congress) due to its handling of some political statements at game events. Either way, the show must go on and BlizzCon is happening in just a few weeks.
With the annual event right around the corner, it's obviously time for tons of leaks and rumors to start emerging ahead of the event. Much like E3, Tokyo Game Show, or any major video game news event at this point, it seems very hard for things to stay a secret until the planned announcement. There have been some very interesting Blizzard rumors so far surrounding many of the company's major franchises, so it seems like a good time to round each of them up and speculate about their likelihood.
For fans who prefer some surprises during the big event, we recommend stopping here. Although everything that follows is still firmly in the rumor camp, some fans may feel like a few of these predictions and leaks are spoilers and will ruin the big moments during BlizzCon 2019.
Overwatch 2 Reveal Trailer And Gameplay Changes
Let's start with the big one. Over the weekend a reliable Overwatch source, who has correctly predicted character announcements in the past, emerged to share some details about how Overwatch 2 will be announced this year at BlizzCon. When it comes to popular games as service titles like Overwatch, it is always hard to predict if or when a sequel or new installment will ever arrive. The popular team-based shooter could easily continue just releasing new characters and events and still make money, but it sounds like the time for a true sequel may be arriving. If the title is announced at BlizzCon, it will be interesting to see if it is planned for a next-gen console launch. That would definitely be one convincing reason to leave the original behind and start a new era as the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett hit stores during holiday 2020.
Besides the aforementioned PvE elements, Metro says that Overwatch 2 is going to have a new leveling system that will impact how players can play their selected hero. An example given was that Tracer's Pulse Bomb could be upgraded so that if she sticks an opponent with it, it will also stick any other units close to that target. This sounds like it would be hugely overpowered in Overwatch's current PvP scene, so we would imagine that stuff like this would be relegated to the PvE side of the equation.
No New Overwatch Hero
The same source who revealed the details about Overwatch 2's announcement plans claims that the rumors surrounding the reveal of a hero names Echo are false. The source claims that all resources are currently being put into Overwatch 2 development and that the original Overwatch is done adding new heroes. If this claim ends up being true, that means that Sigma will have been the final Overwatch character arriving in the game. It seems like Blizzard would've made a bigger deal about that milestone, but perhaps plans have changed in a hurry...
Diablo 4 Reveal
Last time the Diablo franchise made a major announcement, it left a lot of fans pretty unhappy. Diablo Immortal wasn't the game that core fans were expecting (or asking for necessarily), so Blizzard is still working to win back the hearts of the hardcore Diablo audience. A promo image for an upcoming art book may have just accidentally spoiled a surprise Diablo 4 announcement. The promo image from the German magazine translates to "...with over 500 artworks from Diablo, Diablo 2, Diablo 3, and Diablo 4." This leak could be poorly translated and actually referring to Diablo Immortal instead of Diablo 4, but if it's accurate, it seems like a Diablo 4 announcement could be arriving just in time for BlizzCon.
This leaked image supports earlier rumors from Metro that Diablo 4 was going to be announced at BlizzCon 2019.
Diablo 2 Remaster
Metro's predictions for Diablo announcements didn't end with Diablo 4 though. The leaker suggests that they have information on a Diablo 2 Remaster announcement, as well. There are no additional details or other sources to backup this rumor at this point. That said, Blizzard definitely is trying to get back on the good side of the Diablo fanbase, so giving them two big games to be excited about seems like a realistic play and we know that the company is not opposed to Remastering its greatest hits from over the years.
Warcraft 3 Reforged Release Date
Although the Warcraft 3 Reforged BlizzCon 2018 announcement was met with a lot of excitement, the game has pretty much gone radio silent since this time last year. A datamine of Warcraft 3 Reforged now suggests that a beta and release date are right around the corner. If Blizzard is looking to give players something to play as they walk away from the event, opening up a Warcraft 3 Reforged beta would certainly get a lot of fans hyped.\
World of Warcraft Expansion Announcement
Although there are no leaks to support this rumor, the retail WoW expansion formula is a little easy to predict at this point. Based on how announcements have gone in the past, it seems highly likely that Blizzard will reveal the next World of Warcraft expansion title (and possibly an introduction cinematic) and that the expansion will then release in late summer 2020. Although the battle for Azeroth still rages on, the conflict is starting to shift towards the Old Gods, so the next expansion will likely have something to do with the Horde and Alliance coming together for that battle.
In terms of other WoW news, it also seems like about the right time for WoW Classic's team to offer some more concrete dates on plans for Phase 2 and what comes next for the vanilla experience. Again, there are not leaks for this particular prediction, but based on how long WoW Classic has been out and the recent addition of Dire Maul, it seems like Phase 2 should be right around the corner.
Outside of established Blizz properties there doesn't seem to be any additional rumors about a new IP or game. When Overwatch dropped three years ago, there had been lots of rumors and leaks before the official reveal. It would be exciting to see Blizzard give fans a new IP to look forward to, but at this point there's no evidence pointing in that direction for this year.
Be sure to check back for more Blizzard rumors, news, and updates, in the coming days.
BlizzCon 2019 is scheduled to take place November 1 through November 3.