After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024. This decision was not made lightly as BlizzCon remains a very special event for all of us, and we know many of you look forward to it. While we're approaching this year differently and as we have explored different event formats in the past, rest assured that we are just as excited as ever to bring BlizzCon back in future years.

Over the next few months, we'll be sharing more details about our launches coming later this year, including World of Warcraft: The War Within and Diablo IV's first expansion, Vessel of Hatred. To celebrate these upcoming releases and to bring our communities together in new and special ways, we will soon share some exciting plans for other industry trade shows and conventions like Gamescom. We can't wait to tell you more about those plans soon. We're also looking forward to the Overwatch Champions Series' stops at both Dreamhack Dallas and Dreamhack Stockholm. And we're thrilled to be planning multiple, global, in-person events to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Warcraft, which will be held in addition to the in-game celebrations across our Warcraft games throughout 2024. While these events are distinct from BlizzCon, we're harnessing all of our creativity and imagination to ensure that they carry the same spirit of celebration and togetherness.

Support for Battle.net on GeForce NOW expands this GFN Thursday, as titles from the iconic StarCraft and Diablo series come to the cloud. StarCraft Remastered, StarCraft II, Diablo II: Resurrected and Diablo III are part of 16 new games joining the GeForce NOW library of more than 1,900 titles. Plus, a new update rolling out for members this week brings AV1 streaming to Mac M3 computers. This feature will improve game-streaming quality for members on M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max devices

Plenty of Space in Hell
Dive into the original Blizzard games that set the stage for real-time strategy and action role-playing games (RPGs). StarCraft Remastered, StarCraft II, Diablo II: Resurrected and Diablo III bring galactic warfare, epic quests and legendary battles to the cloud. In StarCraft Remastered, command one of three races - Terran, Zerg or Protoss - as they desperately struggle for survival. Build bases, gather resources and engage in intense battles using unique units and strategies. Continue the saga with StarCraft II, with enhanced graphics and extended storytelling. Save the galaxy from emergent threats in full-length Terran, Zerg and Protoss campaigns. Take charge of all multiplayer units solo in Versus Mode, team up with a friend for Co-Op Missions or explore community-created game modes in the Arcade.

Today (on March 26), wanderers can conquer the horrors of Hell with a suite of new graphical enhancements available to them with patch 1.3.5. Arriving alongside our next content update, Sanctuary will be further imbued with the luscious shadows and enhanced reflections of ray tracing, plus other visual enhancements.

BASK IN THE GLOW OF NVIDIA GeForce
Players using GeForce RTX 40 Series can max out their ray tracing settings and frame rates with NVIDIA DLSS 3 Frame Generation, while other GeForce RTX users can accelerate performance with DLSS 2's Super Resolution technology. With a GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU, you can multiply performance by up to 3X thanks to DLSS 3. NVIDIA Reflex is a game-changer, reducing system latency on GeForce graphics cards and laptops. Pinpoint accuracy and timing are key to overcoming Diablo IV's most difficult fights; NVIDIA Reflex reduces system latency, making gameplay smooth and more responsive, delivering the reaction time needed in critical moments. The newest GeForce Game Ready Driver delivers the optimum experience with ray tracing, available now for download.

Get swept away in the Plunderstorm—a fun, new, limited-time, pirate-themed event of prodigious proportions lasting the next several weeks. Scour the map and try to be the last pirate standing while dashing across the Arathi Highlands to find abilities, upgrades, and loot to plunder just to survive! Plunge into a challenging battle that earns excellent rewards for World of Warcraft Modern and Classic progression realms. All you have to do is survive…and plunder. Can't seem to stay in the realm of the living? No problem. Plunderers still gain progression that helps unlock new rewards.

Set Sail for the Plunderstorm
Each match is 10-15 minutes long and has 60 players per match, with the winner being the last one standing. Level up and acquire new abilities and spells by killing creatures and enemies, looting chests, and avoiding the encroaching storm.

As part of our effort to make Battle.net more welcoming to more players, we routinely review which currencies we support and what new ones we should add. This can make submitting payments less difficult and may help reduce or eliminate fees you pay to your card issuer for foreign currency transactions. Subscriptions for Argentinian players will be canceled and not automatically renewed to avoid enrolling players into subscriptions that may see a price increase in Argentina after this currency update.

The new currencies we're rolling out include: United Arab Emirates dirham (AED), Colombian peso (COP), Costa Rican colon (CRC), Indonesian rupiah (IDR), Israeli new shekel (ILS), Malaysian ringgit (MYR), Peruvian sol (PEN), Qatari riyal (QAR), Serbian dinar (RSD), Saudi riyal (SAR), Singapore dollar (SGD), Thai baht (THB), and Uruguayan peso (UYU). We've put together a brief FAQ to provide you with more information on the coming changes.

We're thrilled to announce that Toys for Bob is spinning off as an independent game development studio! Over the years, we've inspired love, joy, and laughter for the inner child in all gamers. We pioneered new IP and hardware technologies in Skylanders. We raised the bar for best-in-class remasters in Spyro Reignited Trilogy. We've taken Crash Bandicoot to innovative, critically acclaimed new heights.

With the same enthusiasm and passion, we believe that now is the time to take the studio and our future games to the next level. This opportunity allows us to return to our roots of being a small and nimble studio. To make this news even more exciting, we're exploring a possible partnership between our new studio and Microsoft. And while we're in the early days of developing our next new game and a ways away from making any announcements, our team is excited to develop new stories, new characters, and new gameplay experiences.

GFN Thursday celebrates this leap day with the addition of a popular game store to the cloud. Stream the first titles from Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net, including Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Call of Duty HQ and Hearthstone, now playable across more devices than ever. They're all part of the 30 new games coming to GeForce NOW in March, with eight available this week. Plus, Day Passes, announced at CES, are coming to the cloud next week, enabling gamers to experience the benefits of GeForce NOW Ultimate and Priority memberships for 24 hours at a time.

Welcome to the Cloud
Battle.net is Blizzard's digital storefront, a gateway to adventures in the Blizzard universe and home to a vibrant gaming community. Members who own Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Call of Duty HQ and Hearthstone on Battle.net can now stream these triple-A titles from NVIDIA GeForce RTX-powered servers in the cloud without worrying about hardware specs or long download times. Battle the forces of evil in the dark, treacherous world of Diablo IV's Sanctuary at up to 4K resolution and 120 frames per second with an Ultimate membership, even on under-powered devices. Assemble a deck to cast legendary spells in Hearthstone, and engage in epic firefights in Overwatch 2 and Call of Duty HQ at ultra-low latency thanks to the power of NVIDIA Reflex technology. Read this article and search for Hearthstone for more details on supported devices for this title.

As GDC, the world's largest game developer conference, returns to San Francisco, Microsoft and Xbox will be there to engage and empower developers, publishers, and technology partners across the industry. We are committed to supporting game developers on any platform, anywhere in the world, at every stage of development. Our message is simple: Microsoft and Xbox are here to help power your games and empower your teams. From March 18 - 22, the Xbox Lobby Lounge in the Moscone Center South can't be missed—an easy meeting point, and a first step toward learning more about the ID@Xbox publishing program, the Developer Acceleration Program (DAP) for underrepresented creators, Azure cloud gaming services, and anything else developers might need.

GDC features dozens of speakers from across Xbox, Activision, Blizzard, King and ZeniMax who will demonstrate groundbreaking in-game innovations and share community-building strategies. Microsoft technology teams, with support from partners, will also host talks that spotlight new tools, software and services that help increase developer velocity, grow player engagement and help creators grow. See below for the Conference programming details.

Yesterday, during a special edition of the Official Xbox Podcast, we shared an update on plans to continue to bring more games to more people around the world, with the exciting news that the first Activision Blizzard game on Xbox Game Pass will be Diablo IV, beginning March 28. Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, and Matt Booty also shared the vision on game exclusivity, the future of Xbox hardware, and the overall Xbox promise. There's a lot to talk about, so we encourage you to watch the full episode (see below).

With the combined creativity across Team Xbox, players can expect an incredible 2024 with the likes of Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Avowed, Ara: History Untold, Towerborne and more coming your way, alongside continued updates for our blockbuster franchises Call of Duty, Minecraft, Forza, The Elder Scrolls Online and Microsoft Flight Simulator.

As many of you know, two weeks ago, there were a series of changes made to the Overwatch team, as well as other teams across Blizzard. Writing a public blog is difficult in the wake of these events. I want to express gratitude for the absolutely amazing people who worked on our game that are no longer on our team. I want the community to feel informed, and I want to convey our excitement about what is to come in Season 9. To be honest, it's a lot to balance—but one of the things we've been most proud of is how we've kept lines of communication open between the team and our community, and we intend to continue that.

In that spirit, yesterday, we shared the exciting changes you are going to experience with Competitive starting in Season 9. I'd like to give a bit more insight into why we are making these changes. In our previous Director's Take, we talked about improving the game's core PvP experience. There are different ways that we look at improving the game, but one of the biggest is listening to your feedback. Season 9 starts in less than a week, and the two biggest and best changes coming to the season and a lot of it is driven by feedback from you - our players along with our team's vision to make the game more fun and challenging for everyone.

GeForce NOW is celebrating its fourth anniversary all month—plus an extra day for leap year—during February's GFN Thursdays, with 2 new games joining the cloud. Keep an eye out for more new games and other announcements for members to come. Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 heat up the cloud this GFN Thursday to kick off the anniversary celebrations. They're the next Activision and Blizzard games to join GeForce NOW as part of the NVIDIA and Microsoft partnership, following Call of Duty.

The titles join the RAGE franchise as part of five new games joining the ever-expanding GeForce NOW library this week. Follow the #4YearsofGFN celebration and get the latest cloud gaming news on the newly launched GeForce NOW Instagram and Threads channels. Use #GFNShare and tag these accounts for a chance to be featured.

The kingdom of Stormwind lies in ruins. The greatest strategists of the Alliance and the Horde race towards a terrifying clash as war continues to rage across Azeroth. It's up to you to defend this world and its people…or crush these pitiful weaklings and claim their realm for the Horde! You can now add 1995's Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and its expansion, Beyond the Dark Portal, to your catalog of games right from the Battle.net Shop. This game took the series' real-time strategy to new heights and added greater tactical depth, expanding your armies with flying and even seafaring units. With bigger maps and more diverse armies, Warcraft II will challenge your strategic and tactical skills. Think fast and act decisively; the fate of your people depends on it!

This release includes:
28 missions across two epic campaigns: Follow the Horde and Alliance campaigns and decide the fate of Azeroth. Visit key historic locations such as Dalaran or Stratholme, and see how they were first introduced.
Even more adventure awaits Beyond the Dark Portal: Once you've beaten the Tides of Darkness campaign, embark on the final chapter of Warcraft II with the Beyond the Dark Portal expansion. Conquer the shattered realm of Outland, and end the orcish threat once and for all!
More maps, more players, more mayhem: Fight against up to seven computer-controlled opponents or other players across an even bigger selection of online multiplayer battlefields. Take to the field as a team or try to seize victory on your own, and prove your worth as a master tactician.
Get creative with the Warcraft II map editor: Use the mapmaking tool to create your own multiplayer maps, then challenge your friends to epic battles on your turf!

Beneath the cathedral of Tristram, past the catacombs and deep caves, a Prime Evil grows in strength. Terror grips the townsfolk. They pray for someone to descend into the darkness, avenge their fallen friends, save Tristram, and destroy their demonic malefactor. Will you answer the call? Return to 1997's Diablo, the title that launched one of gaming's most enduring action-RPG franchises. Warriors, Rogues, and Sorcerers can now grab the game from the Battle.net Shop and stand against darkness once again in this genre classic.

Experience the legendary action-RPG that defined a genre
1997's Diablo set the stage for a new type of game that combined fast-paced action, deep character customization, intense multiplayer combat, and dark gothic fantasy in one bone-chilling package. Choose your destiny—storm Diablo's halls as either a Warrior, a Sorcerer or a Rogue, each with unique skills and abilities. Unite to destroy Diablo—join forces with up to 3 other players, delve into the hellbound depths beneath Tristram, and face the Prime Evil together.

As fearsome invaders from another world threaten the peace, Azeroth calls for a hero to lead its human defenders in battle…or conquer this realm in the name of the orcish Horde! The very first game in the Warcraft franchise, 1994's Warcraft: Orcs and Humans is now available in the Battle.net Shop. If you've ever wondered what it was like to fight the real-time strategy battles at the dawn of the Warcraft saga, this is your chance to see for yourself how it all began.

This release includes:

• Two dozen missions across two separate campaigns: Help the humans defend their home world against the orcish invaders, or lead the Horde in their relentless conquest.
• Custom games to hone your skills: Select from 21 bonus maps and play against a computer-controlled opponent to learn how to lead your forces more effectively.
• Two-player versus mode: Go head-to-head with another human and prove who is the master strategist in highly customizable multiplayer matches.

Command the battlefield, outflank your enemies, and gain victory, or suffer crushing defeat and be forgotten forever.

Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson has managed to glean information from a recent Sledgehammer Games "Town Hall" meeting—his source(s) allege that the Activision subsidiary is set for some major restructuring. Last week, Microsoft announced widespread cuts across its Xbox and Activision Blizzard departments—according to Henderson's investigations: "30% of Sledgehammer Games staff have lost their jobs." An earlier version of his report outlines a return to a "Work From Home" model for the rest of 2024, given that the studio is allegedly vacating their current space (located in Foster City, California). He suggested that this is a temporary measure: "until a new office is found near its current location. It's expected that employees will be working from home until the end of 2024."

Insider Gaming claims that it sources have leaked Activision's future plans for their highly prized Call of Duty franchise—despite layoffs and adjusted work conditions, the company's top brass are sticking with a regular release schedule: It's a move that comes at an interesting time for Sledgehammer Games, as it it was also announced during the Town Hall that the studio would be the main developer for Activision's 2027 Call of Duty title. Infinity Ward will be heading Call of Duty 2026, understood to be in the Modern Warfare universe. Call of Duty 2025 is currently planned to be a semi-futuristic Black Ops 2 sequel under the codename Saturn."

Today, the following email was delivered to all Blizzard employees by Johanna Faries, the new President of Blizzard Entertainment: "Dear Blizzard, though my official first day with you all is February 5, I want to let you know immediately that it is an honor to join you next week in this new capacity. I do so humbly and in awe of all that Blizzard has stood for and delivered to the world for over thirty years. Today also brings some mixed emotions. The loss of talented teammates in recent days is hard to hold side-by-side with the immense excitement I feel about joining Blizzard - and building on the momentum you've created for Blizzard's next chapter.

I want to thank Matt (Booty) for the introduction, bring some further clarity to today's announcement, and share more about how I see our future together at Blizzard. I understand this is a lot to take in. The news of my appointment may no doubt bring up a range of reactions, questions, even concerns. Activision, Blizzard, and King are decidedly different companies with distinct games, cultures, and communities. It is important to note that Call of Duty's way of waking up in the morning to deliver for players can often differ from the stunning games in Blizzard's realm: each with different gameplay experiences, communities that surround them, and requisite models of success. I've discussed this with the Blizzard leadership team and I'm walking into this role with sensitivity to those dynamics, and deep respect for Blizzard, as we begin to explore taking our universes to even higher heights."

The Verge has obtained an internal Microsoft memo that outlines a comprehensive reduction of headcounts across a number of Xbox Game Studios departments. Microsoft's gaming division has fought tooth and nail to complete their takeover of the highly prized (~$69 billion) Activision Blizzard + King group, yet this freshly acquired operation is set suffer the most. Microsoft Gaming CEO—Phil Spencer—was tasked with delivering some unfortunate news to an unlucky 8% of the current workforce: "It's been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we've set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we're all aligned on the best opportunities for growth."

He continued: "As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team. The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible. The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they've accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws. Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that is consistent with our values."

Fight through fearsome Vaults and avoid lethal hazards while fighting alongside your Seneschal Companion in Diablo IV's Season of the Construct. Later today (January 23), dive into a new Seasonal Questline where you'll receive your very own Seneschal Construct. As an exclusive deep dive for Season of the Construct, we're going to give an overview of how to earn your Construct and the Stones needed to increase their lethality. Here's the insider scoop on key builds you can use to obliterate your enemies.

Crush, conquer, Constructs
The Seneschal Construct is obtained during the Seasonal Questline in Season of the Construct. To begin the Seasonal Questline, you'll need to create a new Seasonal Character and select the Skip Main Campaign option to dive right in. If you have not yet completed the Main Campaign, create a new character on the Seasonal realm, complete the prologue, and then use the Skip Main Campaign option to access the Seasonal Questline. Once your Seneschal Companion is obtained, your next step is to customize them with Governing and Tuning Stones. Governing Stones give your companion a variety of abilities, ranging from launching smaller Constructs to detonate on impact to shooting down enemy projectiles. Tuning Stones modify the skills of the associated Governing Stones, such as increasing the attack speed or instantly destroying enemy barriers. Each Construct can be customized with two Governing Stones and six Tuning Stones (three Tuning stones to modify one Governing Stone), leading to a variety of potent combinations to uncover.

Ancient forces threaten Sanctuary. Aided by your Seneschal Companion, hazard the many traps and devastating Constructs beneath the deserts of Kehjistan. Deep beneath the swirling sands, elemental forces are amassing for malicious whims of the demon Malphas. Only by descending far below the surface will you be able to cull this cursed threat from its root. Season of the Construct begins on January 23 at 10 a.m. PST. Prepare to uncover the powerful secrets of Zoltun Kulle's Loom with a new Dungeon type called Vaults, a seasonal robotic Seneschal Companion, and Weekly Leaderboards in The Gauntlet. Several key quality-of-life features—including almost constant Helltide events—arrive to help aid your conquests while fighting in the Vaults.

UNEARTH ZOLTUN KULLE'S LEGACY IN A NEW QUESTLINE
A new threat lurks deep beneath the sands of Kehjistan, where the Loom, an ancient technology—designed by Zoltun Kulle and Ayuzhan of Caldeum—has been usurped by the forces of evil. The Demon Malphas is responsible for twisting the Loom for his cruel whims. Zoltun's former companion Ayuzhan leads you through the treacherous Vaults, desperate to stop the formidable Malphas and his deadly constructs from overtaking Sanctuary. Travel to the Gatehall, a town center underneath Kehjistan that serves as your base of operations in the fight against the Constructs. The Gatehall is your conduit to access the deadly Vaults—riddled with elemental Hazards and Constructs, these Vaults are the key to harnessing the true potential of the Loom. Travel to the Loom to stop the threat at its source and defeat Malphas in a new Boss fight. To play the Season of the Construct Seasonal Questline, you must create a new character on the Seasonal Realm and have completed the Main Campaign. Take advantage of the Skip Main Campaign feature once you've completed the prologue if you want to jump right in!

Hello everyone… and happy 2024!!! We're at the start of the new year, I thought it would be a great idea to talk about our view of 2024. This Director's Take will be one part of a series where we frame up the year according to a set of values we're using to develop the game. These values translate into goals and specific additions and changes to the game. There's a lot of different things coming up this year that I want to share, so think of this as the first in a series of topics to cover.

One of the biggest values of the team is to improve Overwatch's individual and team focused gameplay to meet the needs of our core audience. When I look at the future of Overwatch, a year or two out, I don't see the exact same game that we're playing now, but with a few more heroes and maps added to it. The game should always evolve with new systems and features that serve our players. Some of these features could live just outside of a match, such as a map voting system.

Our next Developer Update Livestream begins on January 18 at 9 a.m. PST and will unearth details about the next season's gameplay features, Season Journey, and quality-of-life updates. Plus, we'll also share information about the new competitive leaderboard system—The Gauntlet. Join associate director of community Adam Fletcher, game design manager Daniel Tanguay, quest designer Madeleine James, and lead class designer Adam Jackson, as they delve into the danger awaiting you in Diablo IV's third season.

We'll also hold a Q&A segment at the end of the stream for players to field their questions directly to the team. Visit our official Diablo Twitch and YouTube channels to watch live! Following the Developer Update Livestream's conclusion, we'll post another article with a video of the livestream so you can still catch up on the details if you miss them.

On November 3, Diablo general manager Rod Ferguson and production directors Tiffany Wat and Chris Wilson took the stage at BlizzCon's opening ceremony to recap the plethora of quality-of-life updates released for Diablo IV since Season of Blood began on October 17, and to provide a glimpse at the fiendish adventures coming to Diablo IV. For our first Expansion, you'll be taken somewhere more sinister than ever before—a place where hatred's influence continues to strangle Sanctuary into submission…

Vessel of Hatred continues the grim tale that began in Diablo IV, as you learn the fate of the prime evil Mephisto and his demonic plans for Sanctuary. To do that, you'll be visiting a region new to Diablo IV, known by the locals as Nahantu. With this continuation of the campaign's story comes new ways to play, new evils to vanquish, and a brand-new Class never before seen in the Diablo universe. Vessel of Hatred releases late next year, and we can't wait to share more about it with you next summer.

Today at BlizzCon 2023, Blizzard Entertainment announced The Worldsoul Saga, featuring three upcoming expansions for the critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft. Players will begin their adventure deep beneath the surface in the World of Warcraft: The War Within expansion, slated for release in 2024. World of Warcraft: Midnight and World of Warcraft: The Last Titan will round out a three-part saga that calls players home to save Azeroth.

"Beginning with The War Within, The Worldsoul Saga is grown from the seeds of what captured the hearts of players around the world when they first set foot in Azeroth," said World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale. "For veteran players, the last 20 years have led to this, and for those who have never set foot in Azeroth, this is a whole new adventure."

Sanctuary beckons you forth, wanderer. On November 4, at 2:30 pm PDT, a glimpse into the future of Diablo IV will be revealed live to all at BlizzCon. Join associate game director Brent Gibson, production director Tiffany Wat, lead game producer Kalyeigh Calder, game director Joe Shely, and associate director of community Adam Fletcher, who will introduce content releasing during Season of Blood and beyond.

On the first day of BlizzCon, Q&A questions for the Campfire Chat will be gathered in-person from a box in the Diablo hall, along with any from social media. Then, we'll have a Q&A segment at the end of the stream where the team will answer questions collected from the community.

BlizzCon 2023 is almost here! For those tuning in from home, we'll be streaming all BlizzCon Arena content for free. Whether you plan to join in person or virtually, we wanted to share a first look at all the events in store. Visit Blizzard's YouTube channels or Twitch on November 3-4 to catch all the panels and programming below. BlizzCon is for the community, so feel free to share it with yours by co-streaming.

BlizzCon Collection - On Sale Now
Virtual attendees can also pick up the BlizzCon Collection, a new set of digital goodies and in-game items, in the Battle.net Shop now. These bundles are a must-have for any player journeying through World of Warcraft, Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, and Warcraft Rumble. Whether you're a seasoned hero or just starting your adventure, don't miss out. Visit the Battle.net Shop to purchase.