Tomas Hernandez is owner of Blizzplanet.com since 2003. I post news about World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard Careers, and the Warcraft film.
Blizzplanet is a leading fansite covering news about upcoming Blizzard Entertainment licensed products. I also post previews and reviews. I have interviewed book writers and Blizzard game developers.
I was previously an employee of the OGaming Network (2003), and IncGamers (2008-2010). I was a guest newsposter for GosuGamers (World of Warcraft) a few years ago and for Diablofans.com (formerly Diablo3.com)
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Starting with Patch 1.45’s Season 21, Blizzard Entertainment plans to add Hero Pools. The new feature is not set in stone for future competitive play seasons, but it is a possibility.
So what are Hero Pools? Basically, not all heroes will be available to be played. Only a select group of heroes will be available, and that Hero Pool changes every week.
In a sense, this could give a well-deserved fresh air to the game. Wouldn’t you love a week where those terrible sombras or widowmakers can no longer ruin your matches and SR? How about a week without annoying punch-to-the-face Doomfists?
What about a whole week without Hamster!
Are you a Reaper who hate when Brigitte counters you hard? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a full week with Brigitte disabled? Ahh, now you are starting to get it.
Well, Hero Pools seems like a good direction. At least on paper. Let’s see how it works out in the battlefield.
Blizzard Entertainment listed an upcoming book titled The Cinematic Art of Overwatch — by Jake Gerli (author) and Matt Burns (contributor). The book is slated to ship on October 20, 2020 for $45. It is currently available for pre-order.
Starting with the announcement trailer in 2014, Overwatch’s award-winning cinematics captured the hearts of millions across the world, introducing them to a hopeful science-fiction world where heroes are needed.
Crafting these animated shorts required the Blizzard cinematics team to explore new ways of animated filmmaking with a bold new art style, more frequent releases, and intimate collaboration with the game team. The Cinematic Art of Overwatch chronicles this journey, featuring never-before-seen art and anecdotes that illustrate how Overwatch’s richly imagined characters and world were brought to life through cinematic storytelling.
Blizzard Entertainment has enabled the Overwatch Lunar Year 2020 event dubbed the Year of the Rat. This event will roll from January 16 until February 5, 2020.
Blizzard Entertainment deployed Overwatch PTR 1.44 to test new hero updates, and a Custom Game setting that allows to specify the Data Center Preference where the map should be played.
This patch nerfs Baptiste by reducing the time duration of the Immortality field and increasing the cooldown by 5 seconds.
The nerf bat also affects D.va, Hanzo, Mei, Orisa, and Doomfist.
This is definitely a long stretch, but it is my job to inform anything Overwatch related — whether legit, speculative, rumor-ish, and whatnot. This year, Jeff Kaplan’s Yule Log lasted 8:02 hours.
At 3:54:51 in the video, Jeff Kaplan opens one of the gifts tucked beneath the Christmas tree. It is an Android tablet.
Unit Lost discovered an Overwatch bug that tilts players (standing on mei’s wall) when they drop to the ground. Afterwards, jumping causes them to literally hover in the air for a few seconds.
A patch is definitely coming soon to fix this issue. Please, don’t try this in Quick Play, Competitive or Arcade. Blizzard is known to ban players who exploit bugs.
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Blizzard Entertainment has revealed the new Overwatch Winter Wonderland 2019 skins and other event rewards. The Winter Wonderland event will last from December 10, 2019 to January 2, 2020.
Narrator: Welcome to the Overwatch: What’s Next panel [Music]
Jeff: What’s up everyone? Long time no see. Ah, so I’m Jeff.
Aaron: –and I’m Aaron.
Jeff: So, okay. So Aaron… very humble. So how many WoW fans are here today?
Aaron: Oh my God.
Jeff: Okay. I’m not making this up, you can you can watch this on YouTube. Erin is the gentleman who made Stormwind, Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff, Ironforge, Darnassus for World of Warcraft. For those of you who are Overwatch fans… what is the best map in Overwatch? Aaron made King’s Row. Okay.
Aaron: Thank you, yeah for all of that, and he’s not embarrassing at all.
Jeff: No not embarrassing at all; and he prefers to be called A-A-Run. Everyone’s been pronouncing it wrong all these years.
Aaron: (laughs) You can ask my mom. Yeah, okay.
Jeff: So, Overwatch 2. We’re talking about it in detail now.
Aaron: I’m so, so excited to talk to all of you about Overwatch 2. We said it in opening ceremonies. It’s so hard not to be able to talk about it with friends and family, and actually use the name Overwatch 2; but here we go.
I was watching the latest Netflix show Daybreak, Season 1: Episode 1 – Josh vs the Apocalypse when out of the blue a guy arguing about swords and guns asks the school director which he would pick. Matthew Broderick answers:
Matthew Broderick: “I don’t know, Wes. I usually play Sombra in Overwatch.”
Boy: “He plays as a girl?”
Matthew Broderick: “Sombra has thermoptic camo. I like that. You can’t hit what you can’t see.”
UPDATE (March 5/2020): The release date has been pushed from May 5 to June 2, 2020.
UPDATE (11/19): The high-definition cover has been added to Amazon today for the first time since the BlizzCon reveal.
UPDATE (11/16): The cover of Overwatch: The Hero of Numbani was revealed at the BlizzCon 2019 panel: The Writer’s Room: Building the Worlds of Blizzard.
In 2018, I attended the New York Comic Con to visit Scholastic’s Women of AFK panel. During the Q&A, I stepped up to ask Chloe Fraboni (Scholastic, senior editor) if there were any plans to publish books based on Blizzard IPs.
Her response was a bit cryptic: “We have some new stuff going on with Blizzard that I can’t say what property it is for. But I am really excited about it.”
In the NYCC 2018 article, I did note that while she did not specify what this upcoming book property it was for, during the panel she admitted she had visited the Blizzard Entertainment campus, and met her dream developer: Jeff Kaplan, and she mentioned she was an avid Overwatch player. From the get-go, this signaled to me later that the property they were working on was Overwatch. My speculation turned out to be true. You can pre-order The Hero of Numbani now (Kindle + Paperback).
Funko announced recently that New York Comic Con attendees might have a chance to buy an NYCC 2019 Exclusive Funko Pop Vinyl 6″ Biohazard Wrecking Ball. Quantities are limited and will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. You can find them at Booth #722, visible in the show floor map.
New York Comic Con opens its doors to the public on October 3rd at the Javits Center in Manhattan (655 West 34th Street).
During an Inverse interview, Wes Yanagi (Blizzard Principal Game Producer) and Andrew Boyd (Blizzard Lead Producer) showed interest in an Overwatch hero joining Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros.
Recently, it was revealed at the Nintendo Direct event that Super Smash Bro will have more DLC heroes, on top of the five promised. Of those five, four have been revealed. The fifth is yet to be announced.
It is not the first time Blizzard has teased something that later turns out to be true — like Jeff Kaplan loving the idea of Overwatch coming to the Nintendo Switch, and lo and behold, it became reality.
However, while both producers would love the idea, Yanagi stated such decision is up to Nintendo. Just the fact that Blizzard is interested and willing makes things more viable to happen; but I think the Blizzard Legal Department would have to weigh in how flexible they can be with copyright/trademark aspects of using an Overwatch hero in the Super Smash Bros game.
Other third-party companies have allowed the use of their characters: Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Earthbound, Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Starfox, Sonic, Kirby, Kid Icarius, Metal Gear Solid, Pac-Man, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Mega Man, Punch-Out!, Duck Hunt, Street Fighter, Xenoblade Chronicles, Final Fantasy, Bayonetta, Splatoon, Castlevania, F-Zero, Ice Climber, R.O.B., Dragon Quest, Fatal Fury, and more.
Banjo-Kazooie joined recently, and Terry from Fatal Fury will join the Super Smash Bros DLC heroes this November, with a question mark as the next hero. If an Overwatch hero is coming to the Super Smash Bros (Nintendo Switch), we might possibly hear about it at BlizzCon.
The cool thing about an Overwatch hero joining Super Smash Bros, is that when a DLC hero join the game, a new brawl map (or as they call: Stage) is added too. In the case of Banjo-Kazooie, released on September 4, the stage/map titled Spiral Mountain was added. That hails from the Banjo-Kazooie game.
If an Overwatch DLC hero was added to Super Smash Bros, a map such as King’s Row or Numbani could be added in the DLC as well.
When asked which character from Overwatch they personally think would be a fit for the fighting game extravaganza Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Boyd and Yanagi both shared similar thoughts.
“It’s hard to pick your favorite hero,” Boyd says. “All of them have their own draw in Smash and it’s a really cool idea.”
Adds Yanagi, “They’re all my favorite, It would be an awesome thing to have but that’s up to Nintendo right now.” — source
Blizzard Entertainment added a new item to the Ecopoint: Antarctica that evokes a couple of questions. The item in question is a snow globe on a desk with a blue Overwatch logo. The center of the globe says “Grey.”
This immediately makes you wonder:
1. Is “Grey” meant to be the name, last name, or nickname of a new Hero?
2. We have seen one of Mei’s skins with the green Overwatch logo, which indicates that Overwatch has many divisions within its umbrella: one of them the ecology branch. On the other hand, we have seen a Winston skin with the blue Overwatch logo. The skin is a underwater suit. So the question is: Is there an oceanic division that explores the depths of the ocean? If so, is a new underwater map coming soon, and this item is teasing that? Or could “Grey” refer to the Oceanic division’s station name?
It is official. Blizzard Entertainment and Nintendo are launching the Overwatch Legendary Edition on the Nintendo Switch on October 15th. If you don’t have the handheld, you can buy the Nintendo Switch here.
UPDATE (Sept 5): Pre-orders for the Overwatch Legendary Edition (Nintendo Switch) are now open for $39.99. Want to receive this the day it comes out? Select FREE Two-Day Shipping at checkout.
IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 4, 2019– The world could always use more heroes—and starting October 15, Nintendo Switch™ players will be able to join more than 40 million players from around the globe in the fight for the future with the arrival of Overwatch® Legendary Edition.
Overwatch Legendary Edition puts the definitive version of Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed team shooter in Nintendo Switch owners’ hands, complete with the latest content and gameplay updates. Players will select from a roster of 31 vibrant heroes as they face off in a variety of casual and competitive multiplayer modes andbattle over map objectives in 28 different locations around the earth (and on the moon).
In addition, Nintendo Switch gamers have the option to take control of their heroes in a whole-new wayusing the console’s built-in gyroscopic motion controls, which let players tilt their console to line up the perfect shot as McCree, pilot D.Va through the air, or quickly turn to deflect incoming projectiles as Genji.
“Overwatch brings players together to cooperate and compete in a bright and optimistic vision of the future, and we’re looking forward to welcoming Nintendo Switch gamers into the fun,” said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “The Legendary Edition includes more than three years’ worth of content updates and gameplay enhancements, and we’re excited to team up with Nintendo to provide players with new ways to enjoy the full Overwatch experience—including on the go.”
OverwatchLegendary Edition for Nintendo Switch will be available in a boxed version (containing a code to download the game) and digital version via the Nintendo eShop for a suggested price of $39.99. Both versions come with 15 bonus skins for a range of heroes to kick-start players’ collections, as well as a three-month Nintendo Switch Online individual membership so players can jump into action and start battling alongside, and against, their fellow Nintendo Switch gamers immediately.
Players who pre-purchase Overwatch Legendary Edition by the October 15 launch will also receive the Noire skin for elite Talon operative Widowmaker**, the game’s ruthlessly efficient assassin. In addition, Nintendo Switch players who log in to Overwatch by December 31, 2019 will receive a bonus Golden Loot Box containing at least one guaranteed Legendary item.
The latest Overwatch patch introduced two new features: Hotfixing and Shared Install. The shared install unifies the Live and PTR clients inside the same Overwatch folder rather than separate folders, and saves space. This patch was about 890MB file size.
New Feature: Hotfixing
With this patch, the Overwatch client on all platforms can now automatically receive minor updates (hotfixes) without needing to be restarted. Hotfixes require online connectivity, access to disk, and sufficient disk space. In the event a hotfix can’t be received, you may encounter a message you can resolve via one of the following platform-specific support articles:
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