Blizzard charts out the launch of their cross-franchise MOBA.
Heroes of the Storm, the multiplayer online battle arena title which pulls together champions from across several Blizzard Entertainment games to fight one another, has spent the last few months testing in a closed beta. Thankfully, it won’t be much longer before everyone can get in on the game. Today, Blizzard has announced that an open beta will begin on May 19, with the final game scheduled to launch June 2.
As with many games of its ilk, Heroes of the Storm will be free to play, garnering its profits through the sale of new characters, mounts, and cosmetic accessories. More than 30 characters will be available at launch to brawl on 7 battleground stages, making for a solid supply of starting content with more to come as the game progresses. In addition to buying new characters outright (priced between $4 and $10 USD), players may unlock them using currency earned in-game and try out new champions from a rotating selection of temporarily free heroes.
Few companies are better positioned to attempt this kind of crossover game than Blizzard, long associated with the memorable characters inhabiting their games, and Heroes of the Storm seems like a fantastic way for the company to plumb its vast archive and introduce new players to their old worlds. Already, the game has shown a willingness to step outside of the company’s biggest hits with the team of Erik, Balrog, and Olaf from The Lost Vikings playable as a champion.
What I’m trying to say is, if Blizzard gets Blackthorne in there, they might actually get this crusty old guy to get into this whole MOBA thing.
