BlizzCon 2023 Keynote Gut Reaction Post

BlizzCon 2023 is still under way as I write this.  I have really only had a chance to watch the keynote, as I watched that live while I took an extended lunch break yesterday.

But I think the tone of any event is set by the keynote.  For somebody watching from home, the keynote can really set the level of interest and excitement.  So, with just the keynote in mind I want to go down the list of what I saw in that initial broadcast, stacked from best to worst.

1 – WoW Retail

I will say, right off the bat, that I am not dead set on returning to retail WoW after seeing the keynote, but I was seriously considering it in large part due to the strength of the presentation.

And I am going to admit that Chris Metzen helped sell it.  I have ebbed and flowed on him over the years and was kind of “meh” when his return to Blizzard and the franchise was announced… but the man has a stage presence that is hard to beat.  I mean, most everybody else faded out to a bunch of bland nerds when Metzen was up there, and I am not just talking about the opening routine.  Even in the most mundane part of the presentation he lent emotion and vigor to the whole thing.

Respect where it is due.  He could be screwing everything up back at the office, be he is very good on stage in front of an audience.

Second, I have to admire the ambition of announcing not one, but the next three expansions in one go as part of the World of Warcraft: Worldsoul Saga.  Ballsy move.  That is taking the big leap.  I mean, they might be selling themselves out on some future press headlines, but that is commitment to a franchise.

The World Soul Saga is Coming

The Worldsoul Saga will comprise three expansions:

• The War Within
• Midnight
• The Last Titan

That is what we’ll be looking at for basically the next six years… maybe less if this also means a faster expansion cadence.  I am most excited for the third of the trio, The Last Titan, as it will feature a return to Northrend and Ulduar.  About time they went back there frankly.

The expectation is that the first of those, The War Within, will arrive in Fall of 2024.  Pre-orders are already available.

The War Within

The focus is back on Azeroth with a new location and a new allied race and some of the usual stuff.  Ten more levels will bring the level cap to 80.  But there are also features like better cross-character sharing on your account for things like reputation and transmog options under the warband flag as well as  delves, which will be small group content for 1-5 players.  That is all of interest.

And there was a hint, an implication, that there would be some direct path to get people who have stayed away for the last couple of expansions.  I will be interested to see if that develops into anything beyond a level boost.

2 – WoW Cataclysm Classic

There is certainly no mere coincidence here, that the two most interesting things in the keynote for me also happened to be related to the one Blizzard title I play… if we lump retail and classic into one basket.  Still, they could have screwed that up.

Holly Longdale was up on stage for this, as well as some of the retail presentation, and while Metzen looms larger than everybody, Holly still felt more engaged and genuine that most everybody else who was on that keynote stage.

Cataclysm Classic was totally expected.  That was likely the prediction I was most sure about.  And, honestly, I am kind of down with it being next up.  I will explore that in a few posts.

Can you re-run a cataclysm?

Likewise, that it was slated for the first half of 2024 was no big surprise.  I said by March 15th, and that could still end up the case.  We shall see.

I am, however, intrigued by the idea of Cataclysm with “changes” that Holly mentioned.  The keynote did not explore that, but I am willing to listen to what they have in mind on that front.  I am also willing to bet we’ll be seeing a column from the usual suspect about how “classic” is incompatible with “changes” without a blink of irony about becoming the gate keeper, a term that always seems to apply to opinions besides their own.

I am good to go for Cataclysm Classic and, absent any other distraction, the group will be there.  We’re already exploring the idea of changing up characters/roles.

3 – WoW Classic: Season of Discovery

Less interesting to me than Cataclysm Classic, and not exactly what people are talking about when they mention WoW Classic+, but still a new way to play classic.

Discover this!

The initial level cap will be 25.  There will be class altering abilities, with examples of healing mages or tanking warlocks being thrown out there.

The big advantage here is that Season of Discovery will become available November 30th.

So there is a possibility there if we’re done with Northrend and Cataclysm isn’t available yet. We spent some time in Classic Hardcore, why not some time in Season of Discovery?  I suppose it depends somewhat on how steep the level curve to that initial 25 cap will be, but we might as well give it a shot.

4 – Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred

Down the list primarily because the events of Diablo IV since launch haven’t exactly inspired me to jump on the bandwagon.  But I will once again give credit where it is due, they showed up and had new content coming including an expansion slated for late 2024 called Vessel of Hatered, with new content and a new class.

Is that a nuclear wessil?

I’m not going to run out and buy Diablo IV… though that is in part because Blizz is dangling so much WoW content in front of us that I am not sure I would have the time… but I considered it.  Not as strongly as I considered retail WoW, but still.

I did find it a little bit comic that the presentation included the brag that they have delivered three new Diablo titles in three years, when one was made by NetEase and one was a remake of Diablo II that was done by another studio in the company.  But whatever.  They’re probably still not over the fan backlash from the epic nerf after launch.

5 – Hearthstone Expansion Time

At this point were past the titles that I am going to actually play.  I mean, I HAVE played Hearthstone in the past when I could earn something from it in another Blizz game.  And I would play it again for a similar incentive.  But it isn’t a title that appeals to me, and I am somebody who would be prime for a title I could sit on the couch and play idly while watching TV.

That said, I will admit I respect their commitment to their niche.

But the best part of their presentation was when they were talking about getting lapsed players back into the game with “catch up packs” and my mind immediately summoned up an image of ketchup packets.

How this helps you with deck building I don’t know…

So, in addition to their persistence and their dedication to cranking out expansions, they left a memorable impression on me with that turn of phrase.

6 – Warcraft Rumble

Warcraft Rumble is the new mobile title.

Rumble This

And, as predicted, the pitch up on stage was that it was available to download right then and there and please go play our new app with little, phone sized bits of Azeroth scenery.

I am kind of neutral on it.  I don’t reject it and the pitch didn’t bore me, but neither am I thrilled.

7 – Overwatch 2

So the big, big deal, the absolute cornerstone, and 99% of the content, of the OW2 presentation was the fact that there was a new hero being introduced, a Samoan named Mauga who dual wields a pair of mini-guns, each of which also has a name which I forgot about 12 seconds after they were mentioned.

Mauga is shooting things

So we got the intro, we got the deets on what he did, we got a couple of fun clips of Mauga doing his thing and I was like, “That’s neat, what’s next?”

But nothing was next for far too long.  Just more and more of Mauga clips over and over.  I mean, I know I have low interest in anything OW2, but that just dragged on for so long that I have to think even the most keen OW2 fan must have been, “Okay, we get it, he is a big guy with two guns, can we move on to something else?”

And OW2 was the first product on the keynote parade and Mauga just dragged on for what felt like far too long.  People more generally more polite than I were expressing the desire for a fast forward option to get past this demo.  I walked away and made lunch during these clips and came back and it was still more Mauga.  When they were finally done with Mauga I was tempted to go join in on the Steam review bombing just out of annoyance.

But done meant they went on to ramble about the OW2 esports league for another too many minutes.  It was like they had to find something even less interesting to cap things off.  This was not opening the keynote on the best foot… though at least it did all get better by comparison.

8 – The Bosses

I cannot recall if I have ever heard Mike Ybarra speak at BlizzCon or any other event in the past, but he is pretty bland.  I mean, there have been some uninspired heads of Blizzard in the past.  J. Allen Brack was not, for example, a top pick by me as a public speaker, but he had more feeling than Ybarra.

But maybe Ybarra was instructed to be human lite mayo on camera so as not to upstage Phil Spencer, the head of the XBox division of Microsoft and the new lord and master over Blizzard, who himself did not exactly deliver a gripping, emotive performance.

Sure, you don’t have to be a dynamic public speaker to be the boss.  But if you’re not maybe you should keep it brief and let others who are take over.  Spencer at least kept it brief, so kudos to him on that front, but Ybarra… I could have done with less of him as well.

Anyway, that is my gut response to the opening of BlizzCon 2023.  They have put some of it up on YouTube… though I think it might be telling that they only included the World of Warcraft portion of the show.  Better for all around probably.

I’ll be back to explore more of the details and go over my predictions this coming week.  There seems like more than enough to milk out of what we saw and I am not in a big hurry to get to it all like the news sites.