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How to watch BlizzCon 2018

A blizzard of big news is coming to BlizzCon 2018! Here's how you can watch

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Watch live video from Blizzard on www.twitch.tv

BlizzCon is an annual two-day event that showcases Blizzard’s stable of franchises and it is fast approaching. While physical tickets for the November 2-3 event at the Anaheim Convention Center are sold out, you can still watch the festivities from home. Here’s how you can tune in and learn about all the latest happenings in the worlds of Overwatch, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and more.

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How to watch BlizzCon 2018

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Each year, BlizzCon starts with an opening ceremony that offers a snapshot of all the major updates from your favorite Blizzard games. This year, the ceremony kicks off at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on November 2. You can stream it directly from Blizzard’s website.

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According to the schedule on the BlizzCon site, the opening ceremony takes place across multiple stages, each of which focuses on one aspect of Blizzard’s business. Last year, the opening ceremony rotated between three stages: Mythic, Overwatch Arena, and the Hearthstone Tournament Stage. However, the stage names didn’t hold much weight in the end, as Blizzard discussed all of its major franchises — Overwatch, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft — except for Diablo.

The bottom line is, if you want to hear any news about new games, expansions, and significant content drops, the opening ceremony will have you covered. But if you’re a hardcore Blizzard fan you might want to invest in a Virtual Ticket.

Watch from home with a Virtual Ticket

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While BlizzCon 2018 tickets may be sold out, you can still get an inside look at the event on both days by purchasing the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket. For $50, you get access to all of the video presentations. This includes a myriad of panels on Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Diablo. Each of those franchises has a “What’s next” event on November 2 on the main stage. Check out the full BlizzCon 2018 schedule to see all the cool sessions Blizzard has planned for the event this year.

Keep in mind that if you purchase a Virtual Ticket, you can also watch the video series leading up to BlizzCon, play a working demo of World of Warcraft Classic, and access the video archive from BlizzCon 2017. Possibly the best part of getting a Virtual Tickets is the epic loot you’ll get from all of Blizzard’s most beloved games. The BlizzCon 2018 rewards include:

  • Overwatch — Legendary Demon Hunter Sombra skin
  • Heroes of the Storm — Nexus Razorgrin Mount and Spray, BlizzCon 2018 Banner and Portrait
  • World of Warcraft — Mantle of the Horde and Alliance, Stormwind and Orgrimmar Champion’s War Banners
  • Hearthstone  — BlizzCon 2018 card back and 10 card packs
  • Starcraft — SCR Console Skin for StarCraft Remastered, Classic skins for StarCraft II Terran, Zerg, and Protoss workers, and Portrait

To be clear, Blizzard won’t lock major news behind the Virtual Ticket, so if you don’t buy it, there’s no need to worry about missing a hypothetical Diablo 4 reveal, for instance. But if you’re a huge Blizzard fan and want to enjoy sessions about your favorite games, the Virtual Ticket is sure to entertain.

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Steven Petite
Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
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