IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Nexus portal will soon be transporting the greatest Heroes of the Storm™ players in the world to a new battleground—BlizzCon®! Blizzard Entertainment today announced the first-ever global tournament series for its brand-new free-to-play online team brawler. The competition will feature regional championship tournaments for the Americas, Europe, China, Korea, and Taiwan regions, with the top eight teams duking it out at the Heroes of the Storm World Championship at BlizzCon on November 6–7 in Anaheim.
The stakes are high, with a total prize pool of over $1.2 million in cash and prizes—including $500,000 at BlizzCon. The world champion team will walk away with $200,000—and bragging rights as the best Heroes of the Storm players in the world.
The Road to BlizzCon kicks off later this month with a tournament in China, and similar events will be taking place in the Americas (including North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand), Europe, Korea, and Taiwan regions in the weeks ahead. Everyone is encouraged to gather a team and compete in their local tournament. Details on how to sign up, as well as further event-related news, will be posted on www.heroesofthestorm.com.
“We’re excited to kick off the inaugural Heroes of the Storm tournament series, and we can’t wait to see the best teams start to distinguish themselves in battle,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “With the world championships for StarCraft II, World of Warcraft Arena, Hearthstone, and now Heroes of the Storm underway, 2015 is shaping up to be a great year for eSports fans.”
Officially launching June 2, Heroes of the Storm brings together a diverse cast of iconic characters from Blizzard’s far-flung realms of science fiction and fantasy, including the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo® universes, and challenges them to compete in epic, adrenaline-charged battles. Players can choose from more than 35 Blizzard heroes and customize them to suit their play style, and then team up with friends to fight across 7 dynamic Battlegrounds—with more heroes and Battlegrounds on the way. The game features a variety of gameplay modes for players of every skill level, including a Versus A.I. mode, in which players face computer-controlled opponents, and highly competitive draft-style ranked play.
Stay tuned to www.heroesofthestorm.com for further news on the Heroes of the Storm World Championship tournament series, including details on how to sign up. You can also watch the tournament action unfold live on Twitch (www.twitch.tv/blizzheroes).
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes nineteen #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about scheduled release dates, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
