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Blizzard Watch Weekly: What can I say except you're welcome?
🕑 Added 2025-03-14 22:12:26 +0000 UTCIf you're wondering how the site curse is going, this is a photo I took in the moment as my phone started blowing up with notifications from discords that BlizzCon is back in 2026. I don't announce my vacations publicly -- that's kind of internet safety 101 -- but somehow, Blizzard always knows.
So, you can thank me (and my daughter's school for desperately needing chaperones) for BlizzCon returning. Though, now that I think about it, I'm not exactly sure if this means the curse is on me, because I'm unable to report, or on Liz, because that means that all editorial is squarely on her shoulders in that minute as huge surprise announcements happen.
Let’s see what happened this week, and what we have to look forward to next week, and some stuff you may have missed.
What happened this week?
Story Mode of Liberation of Undermine released
Steam Spring Sale through March 20
This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl: Half and Half (Wild, Constructed)
Active Twitch Drop campaigns
Epic Games Store free game of the week: Mortal Shell
Before we get into it, you may want to set the mood with a suitable soundtrack. Blizzard released the official soundtrack for the Undermine, so you can listen to some smooth jazz as we recount the week.
We've continued to watch the Race to World First closely. Liquid and Method are neck-and-neck, though I have to admit I'm mostly rooting for Liquid because Chef Heidi is the best. If you're wondering why we're in there beating the coins out of Gallywix, we wrote a lore primer on the now-deposed Goblin leader. We all know transmog is the true endgame of any coup, so if you missed the guns-out Spare Uncrowned Vest from the conclusion to Liberation of Undermine, or your main isn't a Rogue, we wrote an article outlining how to get it.
My favorite article this week is an exploration of the DRIVE acronym in the other languages WoW supports. Localization teams are so great at what they do. And speaking of DRIVE, if you're still running straight into the wall, we have a few tips to keep you rolling on the roads.
In other gaming news, the new patch for the Guild Wars 2 expansion Janthir Wilds called Repentance is now live. The kickstarter for Fallen London is now concluded, which means we're one step closer to it being reality, which is great because that means we're one step closer to being able to play it.
This weeks' cute post features a fuzzy little baby elephant, Tula-Tu from the Oregon Zoo. Because the Steam Spring Sale is live through March 20, this week's weekend gaming post is full of sales on old favorites we love, rather than new releases.
What’s Happening Next Week (and beyond)
Phase 3 of WoW Classic Anniversary realms goes live March 20
Journey to the Emerald Dream Hearthstone expansion releases March 25
BlizzCon September 13-14 2026
The big news this week, as hinted to above, is the announcement of the return of BlizzCon, though it won't be showing back up for another year and a half. That's probably enough time for me to rally and book a hotel room or whatever, right?
We're already seeing new, interesting stuff coming out of patch 11.1.5, including a baked-in ability monitor option in the UI on the PTR, which is currently up and available. In very far away news, we got a short glimpse of what to expect from WoW Player Housing, and how things like item placements would work. If you just want to slap some stuff on the walls, you can use the simplified mode, but if you're a decor game sicko like most of us, you can change the placement on each axis, color, clipping, rotation, and even scale of the items you place in your house. It seems even more robust than some of the very in-depth decor games, like House Flipper 2.
Next week, phrase 3 of the WoW Classic Anniversary realms starts, with the second half --the PVP bits, mainly -- dropping 2 weeks later on April 3. We're speculating that the week after that, season 8 of WoW Classic Season of Discovery will start April 8, but that is certainly not confirmed yet. However, we did confirm that Diablo 4 season 7 would stretch all the way to April 28. In the meantime, there's another blink-and-you'll-miss-it repetition of the Mother's Blessing event March 18-25, so it might be a good idea to try to bang out the end of your seasonal journey this weekend.
This week’s podcasts
Blizzard Watch Podcast: BlizzCon bound, baby! (in 2026, anyway)
Lore Watch Podcast: Could the Sunwell become a Voidwell? (And other wild Warcraft speculation)
Tavern Watch Plays Triangle Agency 1: The Agency has your very best interests at heart!
The Blizzard Watch Podcast this week discussed BlizzCon, now that we know it's real -- you're not dreaming. We'll pinch you if you want. The Liberation of Undermine continues to be a hot topic as the Race to World First blazes on. Plus, they discussed another BAFTA offering: a poll for the most influential game of all time.
Lore Watch did what Lore Watch does best, and went wild with a tinfoil hat episode, conjecturing what might be in store for Midnight. Just on the title alone I'd guess the Sunwell getting destroyed somehow is a decent bet, but could it be flipped to the Void? Joe and Matt discuss.
Plus, this week we started a new campaign on Tavern Watch. Phil Ulrich is our GM for The Triangle Agency, which is like if Men in Black and Ghostbusters joined forces to solve some murders. Maybe the Supernatural dudes are there too, but maybe that's just my BlizzCon induced dream talking.
