With BlizzCon coming up this weekend, there’s plenty of potential for new Overwatch content.
BlizzCon has been a place for big Overwatch announcements, news and action in the past, and with thousands of fans from all over the world gathering in Anaheim this weekend, there’s no reason to think this year will be any different.
We don’t know exactly what’s coming, but below are three things that fans might see announced this year at BlizzCon.
1. Hero 29 announced
Last year, Moira was revealed during BlizzCon 2017, and there’s a lot of signs that could point to another hero reveal coming this year. The change to the payload on Route 66 is really similar to what happened on Numbani before Doomfist was announced – something got taken out of the container the payload was carrying.
Also, if you look at the time between the announcements of the most recent new Overwatch heroes like Doomfist, Moira, Brigitte and Wrecking Ball it’s about 3-4 months between each reveal. Hammond was announced back at the end of June, and with BlizzCon right at the start of November, that would fit the timeframe.
2. Permanent PvE modes
Earlier in the year, Goldman Sachs wrote in a stock outlook that a “possible Overwatch expansion” could be announced at BlizzCon this year. It doesn’t get very specific, but that could mean we could see permanent PvE modes announced.
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Seasonal PvE modes, like for Junkenstein’s Revenge, and the Archives event, have proved popular among players, so we could see something resembling a story mode introduced. Maybe short PvE story missions featuring heroes that haven’t seen much dedicated lore (looking at you, Zenyatta).
3. New Skins
Yes, Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan shot down any ideas about a new map being introduced at BlizzCon this year, but he didn’t say anything about new hero skins.
New skins inspired by other Blizzard franchises like StarCraft and Diablo were introduced last year, so it would make sense to see more in 2018.
Blizzard fans who got the virtual ticket also unlocked the ‘Demon Hunter’ sombra skin, which might be just a preview of some of the awesome skins the Overwatch team has ready to release this weekend.
BlizzCon officially begins on Friday, November 2, with a 45-minute block of time carved out for Overwatch announcments from 1:30 – 2:15 pm PT. Only fans with the virtual ticket will be able to watch past the opening ceremonies.
The Overwatch World Cup starts on Friday as well, with the first quarterfinal match between the United States and the U.K. starting at 12:15 pm PT. Matches can be streamed for free on Youtube and Twitch.