Blizzard Entertainment celebrated a milestone event on November 13, honoring its legendary game, Warcraft, on its 30th anniversary. The three-and-a-half-hour livestream attracted over 630,000 Peak Viewers as fans got a sneak peek at the future of the game and the thoughts of the creative minds behind it.
In Blizzard's own worlds, Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct was a 'heartfelt journey through three decades of adventure, camaraderie, and unforgettable moments in Azeroth and beyond.' The special broadcast brought together the makers of World of Warcraft, Warcraft RTS, Hearthstone, and Warcraft Rumble.
The special showcase also notched 1.1M Hours Watched and 315.4K Average Viewers, featuring multiple updates for the franchise, including information about World of Warcraft's next major update. Fans also got a tease for the game's next expansion, fresh updates for World of Warcraft Classic, details on long-awaited remasters, and planned updates for Hearthstone and Warcraft Rumble.
The event was followed by a lot of major names in the live-streaming world, including Asmongold. His alternate channel on Twitch, zackrawrr, ended up being the most popular individual handle to cover the proceedings, with the online star terming the showcase as 'crazy.'
Sodapoppin was another prominent name to cover the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct, with his MMORPG streams generally attracting healthy audience numbers. elxokas emerged as the most successful Spanish language streamer, while zerator was the top French name.
Looking at the event's graph, it's clear that the Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct attracted the most viewers during the first half. Fans were more interested in getting updates for each game and segment as the peak concurrent viewership steadily built up right until the moment the World of Warcraft 20th Anniversary Orchestral Concert began.
For example, the announcement section for Warcraft RTS Section attracted 482K Peak concurrent viewers. Meanwhile, the peak of 630,000 online spectators came right after the updates segment and before the start of the concert.
The success of this live stream among co-casters and official channels also helped World of Warcraft finish among the five most popular games and categories on Twitch over the past week. Thanks to a weekly jump of almost 400%, it has been able to overtake names like Grand Theft Auto V and Fortnite, a testament to the title's enduring following among video gaming fans globally.
Among the major announcements made were remasters for Warcraft I and II. These are not to be mistaken with remakes, with the final product boasting fully remastered graphics and numerous quality-of-life features. The second installment will include multiplayer, with all the legacy custom maps set to become compatible and playable.
Fans also got information on Hearthstone's upcoming roadmap for 2025. In exciting news, it will start the new year with a crossover with another Blizzard property: Starcraft. There will also be a few expansions that will follow, including a time-themed expansion — The Heroes of Time — featuring everyone's favorite time traveler, Chromie.
World of Warcraft: The War Within will also get its first major patch early next year and will take players into the underground goblin capital of Undermine for the first time. We will also see World of Warcraft: Classic head to Pandaria and Warcraft Rumble coming to PCs, so there's a lot for fans to look forward to in the next year.
