Blizzard heads to Germany for gamescom in August with StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria in tow. The publisher today announced their plans for the event to unveil the opening cinematic for the Mists of Pandaria expansion on August 16th along with playable demos.

Attendees of the event have the chance to get some hands-on time with the Mists of Pandaria expansion, the next installment to the StarCraft II trilogy with the Heart of the Swarm expansion as well as Diablo III. Developers will be in attendance and available at signing sessions throughout the event.

Gamescom takes place in Cologne, Germany from August 15th-19th, 2012. Visit the gamescom website for more details.


BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT® ANNOUNCES FULL LINEUP FOR GAMESCOM 2012



World of Warcraft®: Mists of PandariaTM opening cinematic to premiere, plus latest content from all three major franchises playable in Cologne, Germany, August 15–19

PARIS, France –June 29, 2012 – Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans to showcase its latest games at this year’s gamescom, the world’s largest interactive entertainment trade fair. The event will be held at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany from Wednesday, August 15 to Sunday, August 19, 2012.

The world premiere of the World of Warcraft®: Mists of Pandaria™ opening cinematic, the latest creation from Blizzard’s award-winning cinematics team, will be shown on giant screens at Blizzard’s booth on Thursday, August 16, the first fully public day of the event.

Visitors to the Blizzard Entertainment booth (B21 in Hall 6.1) at gamescom 2012 will also have the chance to try out the newest entries from Blizzard’s three major franchises. The hands-on demo for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, the game’s fourth expansion, will allow players to explore the majestic starting zone of the enigmatic pandaren race and try their hands at the game’s newest available character class: the monk. Mists of Pandaria focuses on the legendary conflict between the game’s iconic Horde and Alliance factions, with warring players and power-hungry faction leaders vying for control of a newly discovered continent.



Attendees will also be able to take control of all-new terran, protoss, and zerg units as they experience the multiplayer mode of StarCraft® II: Heart of the Swarm™, the upcoming expansion to the fastest-selling strategy game of all time.1 Like the original StarCraft, StarCraft II has become a fixture in worldwide eSports competition. In the Heart of the Swarm single-player campaign, players will take on the role of Kerrigan, Queen of Blades and leader of the zerg — voted by gamers as the greatest villain in gaming history2 — as she seeks vengeance on the tyrannical Arcturus Mengsk.



Visitors will also have the chance to play the recently released world-record-breaking Diablo® III. Just a week after the game’s May 15 launch, more than 6.3 million heroes were slaying demons on their quest to save Sanctuary, helping make Diablo III the fastest-selling PC game in history.1



In addition to trying out these exciting new games for themselves, visitors will be able to:

·         Meet with Blizzard developers at signing sessions throughout the event

·         Witness some of the world’s best pro gamers battle it out in intense StarCraft II showmatches

·         Watch top guilds navigate deadly dungeons during live World of Warcraft raids

·         Listen to a live orchestra perform some of the enchanting music from Blizzard games

·         Step into the spotlight and participate in costume and dance competitions

·         Take part in quizzes, giveaways and more

For more information on gamescom, visit www.gamescom-cologne.com. Further details about Blizzard’s activities at gamescom 2012 will be announced on the official Blizzard website as the event draws near.

1 Based on internal company records, industry data, and/or reports from key distribution partners.

2 As voted by GameSpot readers (www.gamespot.com/greatest-video-game-villain/)

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 fourteen #1-selling 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.


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Last Updated: Mar 14, 2016

About The Author

Stacy "Martuk" Jones was a long-time news editor and community manager for many of our previous game sites, such as Age of Conan. Stacy has since moved on to become a masked super hero, battling demons in another dimension.

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