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Press release

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT TO UNVEIL NEW CONTENT AT GAMESCOM 2016

The latest content for Blizzard games to be showcased in Cologne, Germany from August 17–21

Preview video now live on gamescom.blizzard.com

PARIS, France— Blizzard Entertainment today revealed a detailed preview of its lineup for this month’s gamescom, the world’s largest interactive entertainment trade fair, at http://gamescom.blizzard.com. The developer plans to showcase brand-new content for six of its award-winning game franchises at what will be its largest presence at gamescom to date.

From Wednesday, August 17 to Sunday, August 21, visitors to the developer’s booth in Hall 7 of the Koelnmesse will have the chance to play World of Warcraft®: Legion ™, Overwatch®, Heroes of the Storm®, StarCraft®II: Legacy of the Void ™, Hearthstone®, and all three Diablo® games on more than 500 gaming stations.

World of Warcraft

  • World of Warcraft: Legion will come to life during an epic celebration of the game’s upcoming sixth expansion, taking place at the Legion Café at Gürzenich Köln in central Cologne between 17:00 CEST and midnight each day from August 18-21.
    • Inspired by The Fel Hammer, the Demon Hunter Order Hall from Legion, the Legion Café will give visitors a taste of what it’s like to be the expansion’s new hero class—see Blizzard’s recent blog post on the subject for details.
  • Legion will be publicly playable in Europe for the first and final time before the Legion invades Azeroth on the expansion’s August 30 release date.

Overwatch

  • Just in time for gamescom, Overwatch’s new German map, Eichenwalde, will be playable at the Blizzard booth before going live in September.
    • Set in an abandoned castle town on the outskirts of Stuttgart, Germany, Eichenwalde is an Assault/Escort hybrid map where one team must escort a battering ram to the castle, while the opposing team fights to prevent the keep from being breached.
  • The world premiere of the new Overwatch animated short, “The Last Bastion,” will be revealed on Blizzard’s gamescom stage and via live stream on the Blizzard gamescom site at 18:00 CEST on Thursday, August 18.

Heroes of the Storm

  • The new Machines of War[1]  event will be playable at the Blizzard booth at gamescom, introducing new StarCraft-themed battlegrounds, minions, mercenaries, bosses, and more to the Nexus.
    • The new Braxis Holdout battleground takes place on the junkyard planet of Port Scion, where terran and zerg forces clash, while Warhead Junction allows players to deal huge amounts of damage with nuclear weapons that spawn across the battleground.
    • New heroes playable at gamescom include StarCraft’s Alarak, a melee assassin, and Overwatch’s Zarya— the Nexus’ second ranged warrior.
    • Machines of War also brings us a new ‘Queen of Ghosts’ Kerrigan Legendary skin, as well as other StarCraft-themed skins and mounts.
  • Brawlmania will deliver an epic Heroes of the Storm showdown on the Blizzard stage throughout gamescom as six teams of influencers and pro players face off in fun themed showmatches—see the related blog post for details.

StarCraft II

  • The Tal'darim Highlord Alarak, a new Protoss commander for StarCraft II Co-op Missions, will be playable at the Blizzard booth, along with his unique Supplicant unit.
  • Collections are being unveiled at gamescom, and will make it easier than ever for StarCraft II players to organize and choose vanity items like skins and voice packs.

Hearthstone

  • Visitors to the Blizzard booth will be able to hone their Hearthstone card-slinging skills and join forces with a friend to take down Nefarian (again) in a new cooperative Tavern Brawl.

Diablo

  • In celebration of Diablo’s 20th anniversary, gamescom attendees will be able to play all three Diablo games at the Blizzard booth, including recent updates to Diablo II and Diablo III: Reaper of Souls®.

In addition to trying out these games for themselves, gamescom attendees will be able to enjoy a variety of live entertainment on the Blizzard stage, including crowd-favorite dance and cosplay contests, showmatches with pro gamers and community personalities, developer signing sessions, quizzes, and much more. Video Games Live will be performing on the Blizzard stage on Friday, August 19 and Saturday, August 20 at 18:00 CEST, featuring world premier live performances of songs from StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void™, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft: Legion. Visitors will also be able to pick up licensed apparel and collectibles at the Blizzard store in Hall 5. Visit this blog post for details on the Blizzard activities at gamescom.

Those who can’t make it to gamescom 2016 in person will still be able to catch all the excitement via daily live streams of stage activities on the Blizzard gamescom site, along with a daily recap video each evening at 21:00 CEST. Well-known streamers will also bring their viewers live action from the Blizzard booth, which we be viewable on the Blizzard gamescom site. The site will also be the source for a full schedule of stage activities, a social wall, and more.

For more information about Blizzard at gamescom 2016, visit http://gamescom.blizzard.com. Press kits for gamescom 2016 are available by franchise at http://blizzard.gamespress.com.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes fifteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
 
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
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