At the time of writing I’m 38,000 feet in the air above Oklahoma heading straight to Santa Ana in a comfortable exit row. Next Friday starts the first of two days for Blizzcon and I’m ready to get you the scoop on what’s going on there along with many of the other Ten Ton Hammer team members. Last year Blizzard’s big announcement was the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack now due out in roughly a month. What’s going to be waiting for us this year?

That’s an excellent question with no true answers. We know that they’ll be announcing many things for their various other franchises but we’ve got to wonder what we’ll see for World of Warcraft. There is nothing but speculation and rumors right now, but there is no better speculation than from someone with experience from the con.

The convention is huge. So huge that tickets sold out at lightening fast speeds on the day they went for sale. The community was in a uproar. People who were willing to spend 500-700 dollars for a ticket, 800 dollars for a hotel, and at the local prices near Disney World upwards to 20 dollars a meal on the fly were gobbling tickets up like mad. The convention is so popular that while on board this flight I can see one fellow wearing last year’s Blizzard t-shirt on the other isle on a flight departing out of Atlanta a full three days before the convention. What are the odds?

Each convention we’re introduced to some form of multiple major announcements. For this year I’d put money on the announcement of the next expansion. I’m serious. Blizzard long ago told us that they wanted to get an expansion out once a year or year and a half. It’s been about a year and 2 months since the announcement of Wrath of the Lich King and we’ll be seeing the launch next month. So why not announce the next expansion?

Many players feel that the story for WoW should simply end with Wrath of the Lich King. Once Arthas Menethil has been defeated then what is left? The problem with this logic is that the franchise has been and will remain an ever evolving franchise. Sure the story might not feel as “authentic” because it wasn’t based off a RTS game, but it’ll be as authentic as it can get coming from the minds of Blizzard. Let’s not even get started on the massive amounts of lore that surround the game.

So the idea that they’ve ran out of material is incorrect. There is even stuff like the Emerald Dream, Elemental Plane, planets within the twisting nether, and the sea between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. That's just scratching the surface too!

Of course, outside of an expansion announcement, we’ll probably see the usual panels and details about upcoming game changes and explanations behind the various things coming with and in the near future to Wrath of the Lich King. So as far as WoW goes we’ll be loaded full of juicy details on the future of the franchise.

Now, for those of you who are Blizzard fans (which my made up on the spot statistic based on how cold I am and how pretty the view is) states that there is a 80% chance that you are. There is going to be more for you than ever at Blizzcon. Starcraft 2 was announced last year but we didn’t really get any “meaty” details on it. This year I’m sure we’re going to get a full rundown of everything on the game.

During the World Wide Invitational Blizzard introduced us to Diablo 3. Just like last year with Starcraft 2’s announcement we were left with little substance and a lot of questions. At Blizzcon it’s for certain that they’re going to tell us more about Diablo 3 than he we want to hear. Without a doubt that’s going to be at the forefront, getting as much attention as WoW if not more.

Now, in the purely speculation department, we might see some details about the upcoming MMORPG set to release a few years from now. I will say that I believe it’s way too early from them to announce anything past the current “it’s in production” phase. They have a lot on their plate this convention with Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, Wrath of the Lich King, and a possible WoW expansion. So I’m going to go ahead and nix out any ideas about that.

For those of you who won’t be watching the pay-per-view all day or attending then be sure to stick around Ten Ton Hammer for all of the details on the event. We’ve got a large team heading there to cover the event and we’ll be uploading videos and articles like mad as things come in. So stick around and get ready for yearly excitement that Blizzcon brings.

As for myself I’m going to continue using my notebook to keep warm and hope the large tray of coffee being ran up and down the isles doesn’t find its way into my lap.

See you Thursday! On a side note, one nice thing is when your laptop timer and the flight timer match. Such a comfortable feeling.

Want to talk about Blizzcon? Then come to our Blizzcon megathread in our World of Warcraft forums!

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Ten Ton Hammer network or staff.