Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment business and news from across the web.
Latest coverage
Weekend PC Download Deals for July 31: Bethesda celebrates 40 years
Bethesda Softworks is celebrating its 40th anniversary with significant sales across its game catalog, including popular franchises like Doom, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Quake. Numerous PC storefronts like Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.com are participating, offering discounts on individual titles and bundles. Additionally, several free games are available for a limited time on platforms such as Amazon Luna.
Former WoW designer says Blizzard had no way to measure maximum player DPS while building early raids—so the studio enlisted its strongest sickos to grind target dummies
Former World of Warcraft designer Wyatt Cheng revealed that Blizzard Entertainment lacked robust player data for measuring maximum DPS during early raid development. To determine boss tuning, the studio had employees test classes against target dummies and manually calculated damage output. This led to the implementation of mechanics like Enrage timers to ensure players met DPS requirements, a practice that has become a staple in WoW raid design.
World Of Warcraft Is Coming To D&D, And Will Let You Grind Renown Just Like The MMO
Blizzard Entertainment is releasing Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft in November, translating the popular MMORPG into a tabletop roleplaying experience. The adaptation will feature all 13 WoW classes, new subclasses, over 40 class specializations, 11 WoW races, and systems like Renown grinding with factions. Preordering certain editions will also unlock in-game cosmetic items for World of Warcraft.
Overwatch's 6v6 experiments continue with a new test mode and a big healing buff
Blizzard Entertainment is testing a new 6v6 format for Overwatch called Quick Play: Hacked, which defaults to a 2-2-2 composition but can adjust to 1-3-2 if matchmaking struggles. The update also includes significant balance changes, such as reducing the in-combat healing penalty and adjusting various hero passives and cooldowns to better suit the 6v6 format.
Dungeons & Dragons officially announces a World of Warcraft campaign for 2026
Wizards of the Coast has officially announced a Dungeons & Dragons campaign expansion based on World of Warcraft, set to release by the end of 2026. This expansion will allow players to explore familiar zones, dungeons, and face iconic foes from the World of Warcraft franchise in a tabletop setting.
YGG Play’s Shutdown Clock Runs Out — Waifu Sweeper Is Now Offline
YGG Play has officially shut down its publishing arm, with the game Waifu Sweeper going offline on July 31, six months after its public launch. This closure is part of Yield Guild Games' strategic shift to focus on selling gaming datasets for AI training, leading to 35 job cuts. While Waifu Sweeper and LOL Land will not be transferred, other titles like GIGACHADBAT and Ragnarok Breaker will continue under new studios.
Diablo 4 Season 15 will let you grab its rarest items much earlier, and you can finally bring old characters along too
Blizzard Entertainment has detailed upcoming changes for Diablo 4 Season 15, focusing on making the rarest 'mythic' items more accessible through various crafting and upgrade systems. The update also introduces new mechanics like 'Soul Splinters,' 'challenge dungeons,' and 'overland ambushes,' alongside a 'Rebirth' feature allowing players to bring old characters into the new season.
Azuki’s Special Collection Vol. 1 hits presale at $46.99 with a four-copy limit
Azuki's Special Collection Volume 1, a limited folder containing 10 alternate-art cards for the Azuki TCG, has gone on presale for $46.99 with a limit of four copies per customer. Tournament competitors with participation points in the Azuki TCG app received early access to the sale. This release follows the success of the debut set, Gates Awakened, which achieved over $1 million in direct presales.
Massively Overthinking: Are there any MMORPGs or MMO features that are good kinda by accident?
This article discusses MMORPGs and their features that became popular or fun by accident, often in ways unintended by developers. Examples include "alting" and the architect system in City of Heroes, content trains in Guild Wars 2, and the unintended consequences of Grand Theft Auto Online's content creator. World of Warcraft and Fortnite are also cited for features that evolved beyond their original design intent.
D&D World of Warcraft is the first MTG-style Universes Beyond crossover for the RPG
Wizards of the Coast announced Dungeons & Dragons World of Warcraft, a new tabletop RPG crossover set in the World of Warcraft universe. This marks the first time the MMO's world will be playable in pen-and-paper form since 2005 and is the inaugural release under the 'Universes Beyond' label. The game will feature new species, subclasses, and iconic characters, launching in early access on November 3, 2026.
Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft expansion announced at Gen Con 2026
Wizards of the Coast announced a Dungeons & Dragons expansion based on World of Warcraft at Gen Con 2026. This collaboration, part of D&D's new Universes Beyond banner, will feature all playable races and classes from WoW, new subclasses, and adventures set in Azeroth, including the Ice Crown Citadel raid. The expansion is scheduled for release on November 17, 2026.
D&D World of Warcraft isn't trying to be the MMO so much as evoke how it makes you feel: "This is your chance to explore Azeroth as you never have before"
Dungeons & Dragons World of Warcraft aims to evoke the feeling of the MMO rather than replicate its mechanics. Principal game designer James Wyatt explained that the focus is on capturing the intangible essence of playing characters in Azeroth. The upcoming tabletop RPG will feature new species, subclasses, and dungeons, allowing for unique character origin stories not possible in the original game.
Blizzard "heard your feedback" on Diablo 4 Mythics and is completely changing how they work again: "The…
Blizzard Entertainment is again changing how Mythic items work in Diablo 4 based on player feedback. The upcoming PTR 3.2.0 will remove all RNG from Mythic Uniques and Iconic Mythics, making them more deterministic. A new 'Upgrade Direct' recipe in the Horadric Cube will allow players to directly upgrade a Unique item to its Mythic version while retaining all affixes and modifications, with the only restriction being that only one Crafted Mythic can be equipped at a time.
Blizzard is keeping secrets about Diablo 4's next season until BlizzCon, but you can still try some of it out next…
Blizzard Entertainment is withholding full details about Diablo 4's upcoming Season 15 until BlizzCon in September, but some new features are available for testing. The season will introduce "Challenge Dungeons" and "Overland Ambushes" as new open-world events, alongside new and returning seasonal items, including "Soul Splinters" and classic Unique items from previous Diablo titles. A Public Test Realm for Season 15 will be available from August 4 to August 11.
Diablo 4 Will Finally Let You Play The Same Character Each Season
Blizzard Entertainment is introducing a new 'Rebirth' feature in Diablo 4 Season 15, allowing players to transfer existing Eternal Realm characters to the seasonal realm. While characters will reset to level one, their class, appearance, and cosmetics will be preserved, though equipped gear will be lost. The season will also include iconic items from Diablo 2 and Diablo 3, new activities, and socketable items.
Diablo 4 Season 15 Is Adding Stone Of Jordan And Other Iconic Items From Diablo’s Past
Diablo 4 Season 15 will reintroduce iconic items from the franchise's past, including the Stone of Jordan and Ring of Royal Grandeur, as permanent additions. A public test realm will be available from August 4-11, showcasing new systems and 10 returning 'Legacy Uniques' from Diablo, Diablo 2, and Diablo 3. Season 15 will also feature new overland activities, a 'Rebirth' feature for characters, and the 'Soul Splinters' power system.
YGG Play winds down: Waifu Sweeper players urged to cash out points for $YGG before July 31
YGG Play, the publishing arm of Yield Guild Games, is shutting down on July 6, resulting in 35 job cuts and the closure of its first-party games, including Waifu Sweeper. Players are urged to convert in-game points to $YGG tokens before July 31. Yield Guild Games plans to pivot its treasury towards selling gaming datasets to AI labs.
WoW Classic Hardcore Players Are Being Terrorized By Hidden Underground Enemies
World of Warcraft Classic Hardcore players in the Stonetalon Mountains zone are encountering a bug where enemies from other zones are teleporting underground, creating a deathtrap. This issue, introduced in patch 1.15.9, poses a significant threat to players on the permadeath servers. Blizzard Entertainment is likely aware of the problem, and while character restoration might be possible, players are advised to avoid the affected area.
WoW Classic's latest patch is terrorizing hardcore players with bugged piles of underground enemies, and it's likely due to a decades-old quirk of Blizzard programming
A recent patch for World of Warcraft Classic has introduced a bug causing large numbers of enemies to spawn underground in the Stonetalon Mountains, posing a significant threat to players, especially hardcore characters. This issue is believed to stem from a decades-old programming quirk related to how the game handles NPC positioning, potentially causing entities to default to the region's origin point (0,0,0) when their location is lost.
Stealth and armour placement rule supreme in Tyr, the new tank shooter from former Destiny and Valorant devs, with a public playtest now live
Tyr, a new multiplayer tank shooter from former Destiny and Valorant developers at Stoke Games, is currently holding a public playtest until August 2nd. The game emphasizes stealth and strategic armour placement, featuring unique tank designs and mechanics where visibility and reconnaissance are crucial for survival. Tyr is slated for an early access release later this year.
