Blizzard Entertainment celebrates its 35th anniversary on 8 February, and to mark the occasion the publisher has announced a series of spotlights for World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone and Diablo, running from 29 January to 11 February.
Games, dates and times
World of Warcraft – 29 January, 18:00 CET
World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role‑playing game (MMORPG) that was initially released on 23 November 2004. The game is set in the Warcraft fantasy universe, where players play on the fictieve planet of Azeroth. It has grown through the years with the introduction of WoW Classic and ten major expansions with two further expansions: Midnight and The Last Titan announced in 2023.
Overwatch – 4 February, 19:00 CET
Overwatch (also referred to as Overwatch 1) was released on the 24th of May in 2016. Overwatch is a first-person hero shooter. Various short movies were released by Blizzard in regards to its universe and world. Overwatch 2 followed on 4 October 2022.
Hearthstone – 9 February, 18:30 CET
Hearthstone is a free-to-play online digital collectible card game that was released on the 11th of March in 2014. Hearthstone builds upon the lore of the Warcraft series. It therefore uses many of the same characters and elements. The game reached 100 million players as of November 2018.
Diablo – 11 February, 23:00 CET
Diablo is a fantasy hack‑and‑slash action RPG. The first Diablo was released on 31 December 1996. Diablo IV, the latest edition in the series, was released on 6 June 2023. In Diablo IV you explore the corrupted open world where you fight vicious enemies to gain mighty loot.
What to expect?
For now, Blizzard is keeping things deliberately vague: “Over the next few weeks, each world will showcase what comes next.” is all that was shared on their social media channels. However, this line strongly suggests we will hear more about what is coming next for World of Warcraft, Diablo and Hearthstone expansions, as well as the upcoming Overwatch hero reveal.
The YouTube video description adds a bit more context with one extra line: “These aren’t updates in isolation. They’re part of where Blizzard is heading – together with the players who’ve been here all along.” In other words, these spotlights are not just one-off announcements, but part of a broader vision for Blizzard’s future, shaped alongside its community.
The final seconds of the video also briefly highlight the logos of StarCraft and Heroes of the Storm, prompting fans to speculate that news about these franchises might be on the way as well.
Either way, Blizzard is clearly using its 35th anniversary to signal what the next chapter looks like across its biggest universes.
