BlizzCon 2013
The official BlizzCon logo Blizzard Entertainment

Some 26,000 people swarmed the Anaheim Convention Center over the weekend for this year's BlizzCon, the annual convention dedicated to all things about Blizzard Entertainment, Activision Blizzard’s (NASDAQ:ATVI) subsidiary. BlizzCon 2013 crowds on hand at the Cailfornia venue -- plus thousands attending virtually via a live stream on Blizzard’s Battle.net -- got to see new games and hardware and hear about new developments in their favorite pastime.

For those in attendance, both virtually and in-person, virtual items for Blizzard games such as “World of Warcraft (WoW),” “Starcraft 2 (SC2),” “Diablo 3 (D3),” and “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft” were given away for free.

The items included a Murkalot Crusader (WoW), “Tearin’ Stitches and Stitches’ Hook” portrait and decal (SC2), a “Mark of Death” banner (Diablo 3), and an Elite Tauren Chieftain card ("Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft").

World of Warcraft

In addition to giving out freebies, Blizzard made a number of announcements during BlizzCon 2013, including the introduction of the upcoming “World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor” expansion pack.

Heroes of the Storm

Along with the latest “World of Warcraft” expansion was another look at Blizzard’s multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, “Heroes of the Storm,” which they call a “hero brawler.”

Diablo 3

After getting a look at Blizzard’s latest “Heroes of the Storm,” attendees had a chance to get their hands on “Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition” for Sony (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation 4, and developers discussed the latest “Diablo 3” expansion pack, dubbed “Reaper of Souls,” which includes a new free-roaming adventure mode.

Starcraft II

BlizzCon 2013 wouldn’t be complete without some “StarCraft 2” news. Developers and game producers discussed new features that will be added in the next 2.1 patch, including a Clan and Group Event Calendar, Custom Clan Decals, Extension Mods, and additional features and tweaks.

In addition, the World Championship Series (WCS) finals were also hosted at BlizzCon 2013.

Hearthstone

Blizzard also announced iOS and Android versions of Blizzard’s “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft” free-to-play card game.

WarCraft Movie

Along with several game announcements, Blizzard also gave a sneak peek into the progress of its upcoming "WarCraft" movie, which is expected to be out in theaters on Dec. 13, 2015, according to GameSpot.

For a closer look at highlights of BlizzCon 2013, check out the recorded live stream footage from BlizzCon 2013 at Battle.net, which includes opening-ceremony events and WCS tournament coverage.

What was your favorite part of Blizzard Entertainment’s BlizzCon 2013? Let us know in the comments.

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