ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today at BlizzCon® 2018, Blizzard Entertainment’s games and community convention in Anaheim, California, the company revealed a full lineup of global consumer products announcements for the tens of thousands of gamers in attendance and following along online via the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket.
Featured were previews and reveals for several upcoming 2019 products stemming from partnerships with The LEGO Group, Hasbro, UNIQLO and FUNKO, each highlighting new ways for fans to showcase their passion for the characters and settings of Blizzard’s globally acclaimed games, such as Overwatch®, World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone® and Diablo® III.
“Throughout 2018 our goal has been to give fans an abundance of new ways to express their affinity for their favorite Blizzard games, and it was exciting to be able to showcase our plans for 2019 and beyond today at BlizzCon,” said Matthew Beecher, Vice President of Global Consumer Products, Blizzard Entertainment. “We cherish these game worlds as much as our players do, and today’s reveals helped put a spotlight on how far we’ve come, through our stellar partnerships, in developing toys and apparel that reflect that shared passion.”
Blizzard Consumer Products Highlights from BlizzCon
- Six LEGO® Overwatch building sets, ranging in price from $14.99 to $89.99, [https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/overwatch] were previewed for BlizzCon attendees, including: Tracer vs. Widowmaker, Hanzo vs. Genji, Dorado Showdown, D.Va & Reinhardt, Bastion, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Sets feature fan-favorite vehicles and characters in minifigure form, such as Tracer, Widowmaker, Hanzo, Genji, Shimada Henchman, Soldier: 76, McCree, D.Va, Reinhardt, Pharah, Mercy, Reaper, and Winston. The LEGO Overwatch collection will be available at mass retail in early 2019. As previously announced, fans attending BlizzCon may also purchase an exclusive LEGO Overwatch Omnic Bastion building set by visiting the Blizzard Gear Store.
- As the master toy licensee for Overwatch, Hasbro previewed a range of NERF Overwatch Rival + Microshots blasters with select items exclusively available for pre-order now at gamestop.com/NerfOverwatch and full line coming in January 2019. Hasbro also revealed the OVERWATCH ULTIMATES MERCY figure, which is the first figure to be unveiled within its OVERWATCH ULTIMATES FIGURE assortment, coming to most major retailers next spring.
- Her Universe, a leading fan-focused lifestyle and fashion brand, announced their expansion in the gaming space at BlizzCon. “Fans have been asking us for World of Warcraft and Overwatch fashion, and I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Blizzard and make these collections a reality," said Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein. The Her Universe World of Warcraft women’s fashion collection is now available on www.HerUniverse.com and at the Blizzard Gear Store (www.gear.blizzard.com), and an Overwatch fashion collection for both women and men, under the company’s new label Our Universe, will debut later in November at BoxLunch and in December at Hot Topic.
- UNIQLO and Blizzard announced that, following the success of the 2018 Blizzard Entertainment collection, the two companies will be partnering once again on a new apparel line. The collection of exclusive designs will be available in spring 2019 across all Blizzard’s franchises.
- FUNKO and Blizzard revealed their latest Overwatch POP! vinyl figure, modeled after Ashe, a new hero revealed at BlizzCon, in addition to a messenger bag from Loungefly. The Ashe vinyl figure and messenger bag are available for purchase at BlizzCon and on the Blizzard gear store.
- In celebration of the fan art community, HOT TOPIC and BOXLUNCH partnered with Blizzard to launch a contest where artists rallied to submit hundreds of original Hearthstone, StarCraft®, Heroes of the Storm®, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo designs for the opportunity to have their creations featured on t-shirts at Hot Topic, BoxLunch, and the Blizzard Gear Store. Fan favorite designs from World of Warcraft will be available at the Gear Store and onsite at BlizzCon, while additional designs from Blizzard’s roster will be available at Hot Topic in mid-November with the grand-prize-winning Diablo design set to debut at BoxLunch in late November.
About Activision Blizzard Consumer Products Group
Activision Blizzard Consumer Products Group is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company and the world's most successful standalone interactive entertainment company. Building on the existing consumer products businesses, the newly formed Activision Blizzard Consumer Products Group encompasses Activision, Blizzard and King’s franchises. The division is passionate about working with best-in-class partners around the world to create high quality and deeply relevant merchandise that gives fans new ways to play, display, wear and live the brands they love. Activision Blizzard is home to iconic and beloved entertainment franchises, including Activision’s Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Skylanders®; Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone® and Overwatch®; King Digital Entertainment’s Candy Crush™ and Bungie’s Destiny.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the company's Consumer Products division, including with respect to BlizzCon 2018 and the merchandise licensing programs for Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Diablo and Hearthstone, including their features and partners, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Blizzard'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 Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and the company does not assume 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 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.
© 2018 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Blizzard, and Blizzard Entertainment are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries.
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure and the brick and knob configuration are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2018 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.
