Blizzard Entertainment - News Archive: August 2007

August 30th 2007
New Unit Added - Thor
We have added a new unit, the Thor, to the terran section.

The Thor project has been shrouded in mystery since its very beginning. Agents of the Umojan Protectorate were the first to uncover a trail of clues that the Terran Dominion was intent on creating some kind of new terror weapon. The Umojans' curiosity was aroused when they heard rumors that the huge Simonson munitions facility on Korhal IV had been placed under a complete security lockdown by Dominion forces. Something big was in the offing...

We have also added six new pieces of art to the artwork gallery.

August 28th 2007
Games Convention: Over and Out
The Games Convention 2007 came to an end on Sunday afternoon, after achieving a new record of around 185,000 attendees - with many of them visiting the Blizzard booth to try the first playable versions of StarCraft II and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

Check back later this week for a recap report with additional pictures, interviews and articles! For those of you who attended, we hope you enjoyed our presence at the convention and our daily special events. See you next year at GC08!

August 28th 2007
BlizzCon Photo Galleries: Dance Contest

Photos can´t do the participants of the BlizzCon dance contest their full due, but they do capture the essence of their signature moves. The dance contest gallery is now available.

August 24th 2007
BlizzCon Photo Galleries: Costume Contest

The level of creativity and effort displayed in BlizzCon´s costume contest was truly impressive – rivaling even the high standards of the previous BlizzCon. There were too many worthy photos to cram into one huge gallery, so we´ve further subdivided the costume photos. View the winners´ gallery, the professional photo gallery, the general photo gallery, and the group photo gallery of this event.

August 23rd 2007
New StarCraft II Unit Added - Banshee
We have added a new unit, the banshee, to the terran section.

Many experiments with dedicated air-to-ground attack have been undertaken by the terrans. Various dead-end approaches were tried and then discarded: ordnance packages for dropships, remote semi-autonomous drones, and airborne artillery platforms, to name but a few. Such continual compromises eventually led to retrofitting variants of the Wraith space superiority fighter with a belly-mounted burst laser to fulfill the role in the short term. Even so, the abiding problem of finding truly effective air-to-ground support below battlecruiser weight remained.

August 23rd 2007
Blizzard at the Leipzig Games Convention
From the 23rd to the 26th of August 2007, the Games Convention commences in Leipzig, Germany, for the sixth time in the history of this massive video entertainment conference in Europe.

More than 500 exhibitors are presenting new products and technologies to players, and Blizzard Entertainment is right in the middle of the action, giving live presentations as well as hosting playing stations for StarCraft II and the second expansion for World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King.

The ongoing events will also include a live raid on the Black Temple with top European guild Nihilum on Saturday.

Read more about our plans for this event and have a look at photos and reports on our dedicated GC 2007 coverage page!

August 17th 2007
Dressed to Impress
BlizzCon certainly brings out the best of us, not only in combatative games like the Arena and Warcraft III, but also in competitions of a different nature. If you want to see who makes the best Moonkin costume, or which movies blew the judges away, check out the Contest Results page here.

August 8th 2007
BlizzCon Photos Updated!
We´ve added some more photos to the BlizzCon Gallery. Check out the excitement and energy of Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain´s concert, and the hard work of the costume contest entrants.

August 7th 2007
BlizzCon 2007: It's a Wrap!
The sights, sounds, impressions, and overall experiences resonating throughout the halls of the Anaheim Convention Center the past two days combined to create an event of tremendous excitement, camaraderie, and fun for the BlizzCon attendees, including all of us at Blizzard. Between the entertaining and informative developer panels, the chance to play StarCraft II and the newly announced Wrath of the Lich King expansion, the fast-paced tournament gaming, the imaginative live contest entrants, and the closing-night performances, BlizzCon 2007 proved to be an all-around good time for any Blizzard-gaming enthusiast.

We thank everyone who contributed to the festive atmosphere at BlizzCon 2007. Thanks to Jay Mohr, Video Games Live, and Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain for closing the show with style on Saturday night. Thanks also to our many partners and sponsors for helping us put this massive undertaking together. Most of all, thanks to the dedicated gamers whose ongoing support made it all happen in the first place.

Stay tuned for more content from the show floor coming your way, including contest results, additional pictures, and more!

August 7th 2007
BlizzCon Photo Gallery Update
The BlizzCon photo gallery has been updated with new photos of everything that is BlizzCon 2007.

August 3rd 2007
BlizzCon 2007: Watch the Opening Ceremony!
Blizzard's president Mike Morhaime was among those who officially kicked things off yesterday for those in attendance in a live opening ceremony. Among the highlights: the official announcement of World of Warcraft's next expansion, Wrath of the Lich King! If you couldn't make it in person, you can watch the video of the opening ceremony now.

August 3rd 2007
BlizzCon Day One Recap!
The first day of BlizzCon has come to a close! You can read a recap of today's events on our BlizzCon News page.

August 3rd 2007
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King announced!
Blizzard is proud to officially announce the next World of Warcraft expansion set, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King! With the opening of the Dark Portal, and the renewed war to stop the Burning Crusade´s destruction of worlds, the heroes of Azeroth have given little thought to the frozen wastes of Northrend – and the terrible, ancient powers that wait there. Yet the brooding evils of the fallen Nerubian empire and their malevolent sovereign have not forgotten Azeroth…

August 3rd 2007
StarCraft II: The Terrans Have Arrived
The first wave of Terran unit and building details are newly revealed on the StarCraft II website. In the aftermath of the Brood War, the resourcefulness, ingenuity, resilience, and sheer grit of the Terrans shows in their new designs and adjustments to existing designs as they adapt to and counter their enemies´ strengths and weaknesses. Detailed profiles on the Marine, Reaper, Ghost, Viking, and Command Center are included in this first update that was revealed at BlizzCon. Like their Protoss counterparts, each website profile includes background information, screenshots, video, and concept art.

August 3rd 2007
StarCraft II Played at BlizzCon
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today offered players the first-ever public opportunity to play an early version of its highly-anticipated real-time strategy game, StarCraft® II. Attendees of the company´s BlizzCon™ gaming festival enjoyed single-player skirmishes as well as multiplayer battles on six different StarCraft II maps. Read the full Press Release here.

August 3rd 2007
BlizzCon Begins!
BlizzCon, the convention celebrating all Blizzard games, has officially begun! Gamers from around the globe are joining us in Anaheim today to take part in developer panels, battle with their fellow players, and indulge in the variety of entertainment available. On top of that, Blizzard announced the next expansion to World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, and we also revealed a ton of new details about StarCraft II. To see an up-to-date recap of all the major announcements at this year´s BlizzCon, head over to the BlizzCon Breaking News page.

August 2nd 2007
BlizzCon Live Coverage
Good news for fans who didn´t make it to BlizzCon this year but still would like to check out the event: Giga will be providing live coverage from BlizzCon in the form of a live video stream. Coverage will include the StarCraft, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft Arena tournaments, and much more. You will need to download the Octoshape Player to access the stream.