Blizzard has been on the back foot for a while, especially after their flood of bad press and the poor launch of several key games (like Warcraft III: Reforged, among others). Now, they’re finding themselves backed into a corner with their 2023 BlizzCon bundles. What’s the issue? Well, the value prospect, for one, coupled with the poor current state of several of their games.
Let’s go over what the bundles actually are, and you can make a decision from there.
So for $29.99, the “Epic Pack” comes with the following:
- World of Warcraft: Dragonflight: new Ysergle pet and the Chilling Celebration Banner toy
- Diablo IV: the ferocious Lapisvein Mount, the Cobalt Ensign Mount Trophy, and the Demon-Mother Countenance Mount Trophy*
- Overwatch 2: 1,000 credits, a Murky weapon charm, and a mystery name card
- Hearthstone: a BlizzCon 2023 cardback, 5 Standard packs, and 5 Golden Standard packs
- Warcraft Rumble: the Murloc Kobold portrait and skin
For $49.99, the “Legendary Pack” comes with everything from the Epic Pack, plus:
- World of Warcraft: Dragonflight: the Bound Blizzard flying mount
- Diablo IV: the fearsome Midnight Harness Mount Armor and a Premium Battle Pass redeemable for any one season
- Overwatch 2: the Drowned Warrior Sigma Epic skin as well as a Season 7 Premium Battle Pass
- Hearthstone: a mystery Signature Legendary card
- Warcraft Rumble: the Murloc Tower skin
The heart of the issue lies with the current state of any given Blizzard game
As someone who has played all of the above games at some point, and is arguably the target audience for some of these digital goods: this is an extremely underwhelming display of bonuses. The core problem is that there isn’t one incredibly strong game among them holding up the bundle, and Blizzard is putting far too much stock in the current quality of the whole spread itself. Diablo 4 in particular is undergoing lots of growing pains, as is Overwatch 2, primarily due to its overpromised PVE element and its occasionally obscene monetization strategy. This bundle assumes you play, and like, at least the majority of these games.
In fact, using Overwatch 2 as a prime example of why these bundles are underwhelming, the game has a Premium Battle Pass, as well as an Ultimate Pass bundle running concurrently with this BlizzCon promo. Note that the “1000 Overwatch credits” in the aforementioned BlizzCon bundles are in fact old currency, and not the new Overwatch 2 “coin” currency.
It’s simply too much to keep track of, and Blizzard has lost the plot. Its marketing arms and free-to-play strategists are dominating the conversation more than the game itself. Thankfully, you can skip these bundles and just watch a lot of the show for free (though Virtual tickets will provide more footage and specific breakout streams).
