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Highlights from Blizzcon 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Each year when Blizzard hosts its annual convention, fans from around the world make the pilgrimage to the mysterious and dangerous realm of Anaheim, California partly to hear what Blizzard has in store, but also just to let loose and party with other like minded folks. In fact, each year it seems like the announcements are becoming more and more of a secondary focus to the entertainment aspects of the show, but that could just be a matter of timing.

While the biggest announcement of this year’s convention was the reveal of the fifth and final class of character in Diablo III, that news was possibly overshadowed by Tenacious D performing at the closing ceremonies. Although there were a few interesting tidbits about StarCraft II as well, odds are the galleries of cosplay attendees will live on long after the slim offerings of news has died.

The big announcements from Blizzard were::

-The headline announcement this year was the release of the fifth and final character class for Diablo III, the Demon Hunter. Blizzard released a new cinematic trailer, as well as a look at the gameplay style for the class (check out the video below).

-Blizzard also announced that Diablo III will feature player versus player battles.

-Fans of World of Warcraft won’t have to head out to the store and wait in line for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion. Blizzard will release it online at midnight on December 7.

StarCraft II developers have created four officially sanctioned dev-made maps that will be released for free in the next few months. The four maps include: StarJeweled, a Bejeweled-style puzzle game; Left 2 Die, a co-op version of the stage “Outbreak”; Auir Chef, a new game that combines cooking and fighting as players try to earn the title “Executor Chef”; Blizzard DotA, a space set take on the WarCraft III “Defense of the Ancients” gametype.

And with that Blizzcon 2010 closed with Tenacious D, which then led into several after parties, many of them involving computers. Expect more details in the coming months whenever Blizzard feels like releasing them, but take heart in the fact that Diablo III seems to be nearing completion. For now, enjoy the gameplay trailer of the Demon Hunter class below, and expect more details int he next few months.

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Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
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