The Blizzard Reveal Ceremony, where the newest information on various Blizzard games are announced, was held at Gamescom 2017 on August 23rd in Köln.

The ceremony was held for an hour at the Blizzard booth, and the new details on Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch were revealed in sequence. Notably, what caught the attention of the Overwatch fans was an Overwatch animated short film, ‘Rise and Shine’, as it has been a year since the last animated short film, ‘The Last Bastion’, came out.

Overall Details on the Blizzard Reveal Ceremony

 ■ Hearthstone - Last quest for the expansion pack, Co-op Raids, new animated short films revealed

Hearthstone was the first to announce that the last quest for the new expansion pack, Knights of the Frozen Throne, will be revealed on the upcoming Friday- players will be able to battle against the master of Icecrown Citadel, the Lich King. The Lich King will offer a totally different gaming experience depending on the class the player chooses for the first time ever in Hearthstone.

Apart from the details on the gaming content, a new animated short film ‘Hearth and Home’ was revealed as well. Ava, the protagonist left all alone in a snowy forest, is introduced in the film, and more of her story will be told later in short animated films and comics.

■ Heroes of the Storm - A new long-ranged assassin Hero, Kel’Thuzad revealed

Next was Heroes of the Storm displaying the Spotlight for Kel’Thuzad, a new Hero in the game. Kel’Thuzad is a long-ranged assassin who uses frost and shadow magic to harass his enemies. His hero trait, ‘Master of the Cold Dark’, allows the player to gain 1 stack of Blight each time his skills (Frost Nova or Chains of Kel’Thuzad) hit a target; the cooldown for all primary abilities will be reduced and the spell power will increase upon reaching a certain number of Blight stacks. As for the heroic abilities, Kel’Thuzad has ‘Frost Blast’, a skill that launches an icy meteor, dealing damage to enemies in the target area and freezing them, and ‘Shadow Fissure’, a skill which creates a fissure that explodes 1.5 seconds later.

Kel’Thuzad can be played next week in the PTR, and the new event, ‘Obey the Call’, will be open from September 5th to 25th, from which players can gain portraits, sprays, and banners themed after the Undead from Warcraft 3. Also, the behind-the-scenes videos on the creation of Kel’Thuzad will be released one by one next week.

■ World of Warcraft - Patch 7.3 arriving on August 29th

World of Warcraft revealed the details on the new patch 7.3, ‘Shadows of Argus’. A new world, Argus, will be added in the upcoming patch on August 29th, in which players will be moved to the original homeworld of the Eredar and battle against the Burning Legion.

Argus includes Krokuun, Mac’Aree, and Antoran Wastes, with the rest of the World Quests and regions will be opened slowly over a few weeks, starting with Krokuun. The new dungeon ‘Antorus - The Burning Throne’ won’t be added in patch 7.3 but instead at the end of the year.

■ Overwatch - A new animated short film featuring Mei

Last but not least was Overwatch, revealing a new animated short film, ‘Rise and Shine’, along with further details on ‘Junkertown’.

‘Rise and Shine’ tells the story of Mei, who has been in a decade-long cryostasis sleep and wakes to find herself the sole survivor of Eco-Watchpoint: Antarctica. The short shows how she tries to overcome the crisis with her only partner, Snow Ball. During the story, the viewer gets to see Eco-Watchpoint: Antarctica, some skins for Mei, her Endothermic Blaster, and a Murloc mug that is actually sold in the Blizzard Gear Store.