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This year at gamescom 2015, Blizzard opening its show with a conference going through its future slate of games, from card-battler Hearthstone, colourful team-based shooter Overwatch to the final chapter of StarCraft 2.
And this is all before Blizzard reveals World of Warcraft's next major expansion later this week. There was plenty Blizzard had to discuss, so here's a blow-by-blow of the briefing.
11:06: Starting the conference is Hearthstone's executive producer Hamilton Chu to show its new expansion, The Grand Tournament.
11.08: The expansion is about great champions coming together for the tournament. We get to see a few cards. Mukla's Champion is a Beast with the new Inspire power, which is enabled when you use your Hero Power, giving other cards plus one to health and attack.
11.09: There are a few new spells, too. Bolster gives Taunt minions +2/+2; Burgle adds two random class cards to you hand.
11.10: Here comes a new mechanic being revealed - jousting. When you 'joust', it'll reveal a random minion in each deck. If your minion costs more, they'll gain something. One card, for example, will get divine shield and taunt if they win. Others heal your Hero for 8, or returns that card to your hand. There are various different cards that use jousting, including weapons.
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11.13: Now here's some smaller 'quality of life' changes to the game. 'Highest Rank Bonus' will give players a reward if they beat their previous high score in Ranked play in a month. The bonus depends on what rank you have, but it can be individual cards, a small of dust, and the usual card back. This will be live later this month.
11.14: If you're at gamescom this week, then the expansion - as well as much of what else at this conference - will be playable at the show.
11.15: Now it's Heroes of the Storm's turn. Blizzard has been busy with its Diablo 3 themed expansion 'Eternal Conflict', and there's more to show today.
11.16: There will be a new character - the Monk 'Kharazin'. This is a short-ranged, melee support character, allowing you to double up on your quests for those also going after Diablo-themed objectives. It doesn't have a default Trait, instead you'll select one from Transcendence, Iron Sights or Insight.
11.19: Ability wise, Kharazin has a Radiant Dash that can charge through multiple enemies. Breath of Heaven is a support ability that heals others directly around him and gives him a quick speed boost, and Deadly Reach is a rapid-fire slew of hits right at an enemy.
11.21: When it comes to Heroic abilities, Seven-Sided Strike lets you zip around to the nearest enemies and attack them - possibly taking down multiple enemies at once (or hit one many times). Divine Palm can put a badly wounded ally back into the action quickly.
11.22: There's also a new battleground named Infernal Shrines, a three-lane map with shrines. These spit out skeletons, and if you defeat 30 of them, then you'll get Punishers that attack enemy heroes - something different compared to the other map-based abilities.
11.26: The Punisher looks pretty brutal, chasing down players past walls with a quick leap and a smash, meaning the team will have to quickly flee away.
11.27: Blizzard says it isn't going to stick with one game at a time with Heroes of the Storm. Once 'Eternal Conflict' is done, it'll jump into heroes from different games.
11.29: So next up is Rexxar, a ranged warrior from World of Warcraft. Its trait is Misha, a bear-like beast that's a secondary character not unlike The Lost Vikings character. Rexxar's abilities allow Misha to charge other enemies, and when she's under attack, to let out a quick heal, too.
11.31: Rexxar's Heroic is Unleash the Boars, which sees him release a handful of boars that can chase fleeing enemies and slow them down, inflicting some damage at the same time.
11.32: Coming soon is Artanis, the first StarCraft Warrior. He's still being worked on, but Blizzard said he's been "a blast" to design. And like Kharazin, you'll be able to double up on those daily quests, allowing you to tick off Warrior and StarCraft objectives.
11.33: If you want to hear more, then there's a live stream on Friday, as well as news on another character.
11.38: After a video showing new skins for various heroes in Heroes of the Storm, Jeff Kaplan is introduced to the stage to discuss Overwatch.
11.39: A quick overview for those who missed the BlizzCon reveal; it's the first original franchise the publisher had in 17 years, it's set on our own planet, something new for the publisher, and is Blizzard's first team-based shooter.
11.40: So what's new to be announced at gamescom? There's two new maps. Volskaya Industries an objective-based arena set in Russia, with a few new mechanics. Moving platforms allow static objects like turrets to move around the map, while later on, it'll open up to allow players to enter a giant mech factory.
11.42: The second map is Numbani, set in Africa, which is world's first city where humans and robots co-operate and live in harmony. This is a attack and defend point-based arena, guiding an objective - the character Doomfist's gauntlet - through the map.
11.46: Now's time for the announcement of a new character. It's a roller-blading DJ named Lucio, who powers up his teammates with music - a music powered bard, if you will. His backstory seems him defend his neighbourhood in Rio against a powerful corporation with a beat-based weapon.
11.48: When it comes to weaponry, his Sonic Amplifier has a secondary that can knock team mates out of danger; Crossfade has heal or speed boosting effects for himself and the team, which can be increased with Amp It Up. His ultimate is Sound Barrier, which gives himself and allies a boosted health pool. Meanwhile, his hard light roller-blades can access areas of the map other heroes cannot.
11.53: Finally, it's lead producer Tim Morten to discuss StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void. At the show, Blizzard revealed the news that it'll be releasing sometime this year. Quick recap of what it is: it's a standalone product, and the multiplayer, which is in closed beta, adds six new units.
11:56: What's new? Allied Commanders allow you to play alongside the computer through missions, and will feature progression that can be carried over between sessions. You can control the forces of Jim Raynor, Kerrigan (this is the only mode you can play as her, by the way) as well as Artanis. It's said that buying the expansion will give you Artanis free in Heroes of the Storm.
12:01: Last up from Blizzard is game director Tom Chilton, reminding us that World of Warcraft's expansion isn't going to be announced today - you can follow along at 5pm UK time tomorrow (August 6).
12:02: And that's a wrap! Thanks for following along - and be sure to catch tomorrow's reveal.
