by JR Cook - 1 month ago     show comments

Here’s what happened in Blizzard gaming this week — and honestly, it was a big one. WoW Forever beta kept rolling with class changes and surging player counts, Heroes of the Storm shocked everyone with its first new hero in six years, and Hearthstone geared up for the Old Gods’ return. Let’s dig in.

World of Warcraft

WoW Forever Beta Gets Big Update With Druid Changes and Bug Fixes

The Forever beta just got a massive Druid overhaul with damage buffs to Wrath and some interesting mechanical changes to Thorns. There’s also a temporary talent respec system so you can experiment freely on your first change — perfect for theory-crafters still finding their footing in this fresh take on classic WoW.

WoW Forever Class Deep Dives: Hunter and Druid Changes Revealed

Blizzard kicked off official class deep dives with Hunter and Druid, and the philosophy is clear: keep what players loved from original WoW but add real build diversity. The familiar talent tree structure stays intact, but you’ll have more meaningful choices at each tier — exactly what the community’s been asking for.

Holly Longdale and Clay Stone Headline PAX Aus with Forever Deep Dive

Holly Longdale is taking the PAX Aus keynote stage on October 9 with an exclusive first look at a Forever dungeon. This is the kind of hands-on reveal that could shift how the community sees the project — catch it live on Twitch if you want the early intel before everyone else picks it apart.

WoW: Forever Beta Explodes in Popularity, Blizzard Raises Cap Again

Forever’s paid beta has become an unexpected goldmine — Blizzard had to raise the population cap for the second time since launch. Holly Longdale called it a “wild ride,” which is executive producer speak for “we didn’t think this many people would actually pay to beta test.” The hype is real.

Blizzard Wants Your Ideas for the Next WoW: Forever Podcast

After the first WoW Forever podcast dropped, Blizzard’s already asking the community what they want to hear next. Next week’s episode is locked in with a class design focus, but after that they’re taking suggestions — so if you’ve been dying to hear devs explain a specific system, now’s your chance to speak up.

Diablo

Diablo Immortal Summons Spawn for Hellborne Horrors Crossover Event

Diablo Immortal just brought Todd McFarlane’s Spawn into Sanctuary for a month-long crossover event. You’ve got themed boss fights, a new Legendary Gem, and a full cosmetic set that leans hard into Spawn’s signature necroplasm aesthetic — honestly one of the more natural crossovers we’ve seen in a Blizzard mobile game.

Diablo IV Launches on Nintendo Switch 2 with Age of Hatred Collection

Diablo IV finally made the jump to portable with the Age of Hatred Collection launching on Nintendo Switch 2. The bundle includes the base game plus both expansions, which is a smart play for players who’ve been waiting to take Sanctuary on the go — and a big platform expansion for Blizzard’s biggest ARPG.

Diablo IV Hands Out Free Resplendent Sparks After Season 15 Issues

Blizzard quietly compensated Season 15’s rough launch with free Resplendent Sparks for all players. If you logged in recently you might’ve already claimed one without realizing it was an apology for the login issues and server instability that kicked off the season — not a bad consolation prize for a bumpy start.

Diablo IV Patch 3.2.2 Fixes Season of Hell’s Legacy Quest Bugs

Patch 3.2.2 drops September 30 to fix the frustrating quest blockers that have been plaguing Season of Hell’s Legacy. If you got stuck because you entered the Worldstone Chamber portal too fast or hit similar progression walls, this should finally get you moving again — about time for players who’ve been locked out of seasonal content.

Overwatch

Overwatch Commits to Seasonal Hero Releases as Core Strategy

Blizzard officially confirmed that Overwatch’s seasonal hero release cadence is here to stay. The dev team told Polygon it’s “the right thing for the game,” which means you can count on new heroes arriving with each competitive season instead of the unpredictable drops we used to get — predictability is the new meta.

Hearthstone

Patch 36.6.3 Nerfs Dragon Warrior, Tames Aberrations in Battlegrounds

Hearthstone dropped patch 36.6.3 with targeted nerfs to Dragon Warrior and Attack Druid right before Reign of the Black Empire shakes things up. Battlegrounds also got sweeping Aberrations changes to bring the tribe back in line — timing suggests the devs want a cleaner slate before the Old Gods meta arrives.

Hearthstone Patch 36.6 Introduces Black Market and Aberrations

Patch 36.6 kicked off the pre-expansion countdown with the Black Market, a limited-time event where you earn Bloodstones in Ranked and spend them on packs and cosmetics with unpredictable pricing. The final week lets you gamble your stash on mystery offers — genuinely interesting pre-launch content that rewards active play instead of just wallet size.

Reign of the Black Empire Pre-Purchase Now Live, Launches October 20

Reign of the Black Empire pre-purchase is live and the expansion drops October 20 with 135 new cards, a new Old Gods mechanic, and the Assemble keyword for building custom minions. Taking us back to when the Old Gods ruled Azeroth and the Titan-forged armies rose to fight them — lore fans are going to eat this up.

Grab Free Hearthstone Packs Before Reign of the Black Empire Drops

Blizzard’s handing out free card packs to anyone who logs in before Reign of the Black Empire launches. If you’ve been sitting out for a while, now’s a solid time to claim some freebies and bulk up your collection before the meta shifts — free stuff rarely hurts.

StarCraft II

StarCraft II Patch 5.0.17 Rolls Back Most 5.0.16 Balance Changes

Blizzard is hitting the undo button on nearly all the balance changes from patch 5.0.16, reverting StarCraft II back to its 5.0.15 state after community feedback. Patch 5.0.17 is live on PTR for bug testing — sometimes admitting you overshot is the right call, and the team seems to have landed there after watching the meta develop.

Heroes of the Storm

Xal’atath Joins Heroes of the Storm as First New Hero in Six Years

Patch 57 brought Xal’atath, Harbinger of the Void, to Heroes of the Storm as the game’s 91st hero and the first new character in almost six years. Blizzard celebrated with a week-long Twitch drops event, and the community response has been massive — this isn’t just a hero drop, it’s a statement that HotS is still alive and getting real support.

Xal’atath Arrives in Heroes of the Storm After Six Year Wait

Xal’atath’s arrival marks the biggest Heroes of the Storm update since 2020, and it’s a clear signal that Blizzard is committed to the long-term health of the game. After years of radio silence, the Nexus is getting fresh content again — longtime HotS fans have every reason to be cautiously optimistic about what comes next.

That’s the week in Blizzard gaming. Head over to blizzpro.com for the full breakdowns on any of these stories, and we’ll see you next week with whatever chaos the Nexus, Sanctuary, and Azeroth throw at us.