It will be a huge next couple of days for video gamers in general and for fans of Blizzard Entertainment's games in particular. On Friday, November 3, the developer-publisher will officially open BlizzCon 2023, its major two-day fan gathering, and where it usually makes its major game announcements for the next year or more.
This is a huge BlizzCon in particular in more ways than one. It will be the first BlizzCon that will be held in person since 2019, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you were one of the lucky ones to buy tickets before they sold out, you will be in Blizzard fan heaven on November 3-4 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
The other major thing that might be a factor is that, as of just a few weeks ago, Blizzard is now owned by Microsoft. How this development will affect the event is something that many people are wondering about, both for this year and in the future.
So, if you are not in Anaheim, where and when can you check out the big Blizzard news from BlizzCon 2023? That's what we will tell you right now, along with some speculation on what might be revealed.
Where and when can I watch BlizzCon 2023?
The good news is that if you are not lucky enough to actually be in the Anaheim Convention Center you will be able to watch all of the major BlizzCon 2023 panels live via streaming. Blizzard will stream those panels on its YouTube channel and on its Twitch channel as well.
Here's the full schedule of what will be live-streamed during the event. If you can't watch the panels live, they will be available to watch on-demand after they are held.
Friday, November 3:
- BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony - 11 am PT - 12:45 pm PT
- World of Warcraft: What's Next - 1:30 pm PT - 2:15 pm PT
- Overwatch: Deep Dive - 2:30 pm PT - 3:15 pm PT
- World of Warcraft Classic: What's Next - 3:30 pm PT - 4:15 pm PT
- Hearthstone: What's Next - 4:30 pm PT - 5:15 pm PT
- Warcraft Rumblings - 5:30 pm PT - 6:30 pm PT
Saturday, November 4
- World of Warcraft: Deep Dive - 12 pm PT - 12:45 pm PT
- Overwatch: What's Next - 1:30 pm PT - 2:15 pm PT
- Diablo IV: Campfire Chat - 2:30 pm PT - 3:30 pm PT
- Community Night - 4:45 pm PT - 6:15 pm PT
- Special Performance: LE SSERAFIM - 6:15 pm PT - 6:45 pm PT
The big event in this schedule is, of course, the BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony, which will start at 11 am Pacififc time (2 pm Eastern time). That's when nearly all of Blizzard's big reveals will likely be shown off.
What can we expect to be revealed at BlizzCon 2023?
Blizzard will almost certainly offer up more info on its plans to add more content to its action-RPG sequel Diablo IV, which launched in June 2023. That may include revealing the first details on the first paid expansion to the game. We also think that we will get more info on content updates for the mobile game Diablo Immortal.
We will also almost certainly get some info on future updates for Blizzard's multiplayer team hero shooter Overwatch 2, which launched in early access in 2022 and officially launched in August 2023.
World of Warcraft, Blizzard's fantasy MMO game, is still going strong nearly 19 years since it launched in November 2004. BlizzCon could be the perfect place to reveal the next big expansion for the game. Also, an action-strategy mobile game spinoff, Warcraft Rumble, will actually launch on Nov. 3 for iOS and Android on the first day of BlizzCon. We also expect to get some expansion news for Blizzard's card-based RPG Hearthstone during the Opening Ceremony.
Beyond those items, we enter into a heavy world of speculation. One thing many fans are wondering about is if Blizzard will share more info on its upcoming all-new but unnamed title that will be set in the survival game genre. Blizzard officially announced it was hiring for that game nearly two years ago, so perhaps we will get at least a teaser of that title on Friday during the BlizzCon opening ceremony.
Blizzard could also offer a "one more thing" surprise during the Opening Ceremony, which it has done in the past. One other possible factor is Microsoft could have some kind of presence during the Opening Ceremony. Could Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer make an appearance, and if so what would he talk about?
