Blizzard Watch Weekly: Welp

Sometimes I foolishly try to get ahead by doing posts in advance, and then suddenly, something completely off the wall and unexpected will happen. So.

Let me take a huge swig of water as we look back at what happened this week, and what we have to look forward to next week, plus some stuff you may have missed, and then I’ll check the news for a sec.

What happened this week?

• Legion Remix announced at PAX East
• This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl: Top Two Brawl (Wild, Constructed (sort of))
• Active Twitch Drop campaigns
• Epic Games Store free game of the week: Touch Type Tale and Deadtime Defenders

We’ve been discussing and/or very confused about Diablo 4’s new Reliquary feature. Frequently, when we on the editorial staff is confused about something, we ask our writers to research it and write a primer on it so we can understand exactly what the deal is. As such, our writer Sara did a great job outlining the costs of all the Reliquary stuff.

Speaking of things that aren’t technically battle passes (but aren’t they really), we have a guide on how to customize your Weechi pet, which is a reward for the Trading Post in May.

And speaking of things that we make our writers explain to us, our writer Phil (who we all call Red) wrote an excellent guide to success with one of the latest Hearthstone Battlegrounds heroes, Malfurion. It’s a little tricky and unintuitive.

The Overwatch development team became the second team at Blizzard to officially unionize today, forming the Overwatch Gamemakers Guild (or OWGG, a delightful acronym).

This weeks Games post features Spirit of the North 2, and any game involving foxes is bound to be a good one. Plus, if you’re lucky, you might be able to join the latest Wildgate playtest, which is going on this weekend. And lastly, but never least, this week’s Cute column features cute dogs getting their self-care on with a little grooming.

Oh, and while I was stuck in traffic driving one of my kids to an activity (you’re welcome), Blizzard announced that Legion would be the next expansion to get the Remix treatment. Not a ton of details yet, but we have enough to crank hype levels to max.

What’s Happening Next Week (and beyond)

• Diablo 3 season 34 ends… uh, sometime soon?
• The War Within season 2 Turbo Boost begins May 13
• New Hearthstone miniset Embers of the World Tree releases May 13
• Nintendo Switch 2 releases June 5, with preorders beginning April 24 in the US and Canada
• World of Warcraft patch 11.1.7, Legacy of Arathor, releases Summer 2025

The information about World of Warcraft patch 11.1.7 keeps coming, and this week we have a look at all the stuff you need to know about the new Lorewalking feature. Our writer Eric also buffed his tinfoil hat to a mirror shine, speculating about Xal’atath’s motivations. We’ll undoubtedly see some of this start to unfold in 11.1.7, but likely also beyond into Midnight.

Next week we’re mostly anticipating the new Hearthstone miniset’s release on May 13, but given this information just coming out of PAX, who knows what next week will truly bring.

Oh, and for those of you in the USA, Sunday is Mother’s Day. If this is the first you’re hearing of this, good luck and godspeed.

This week’s podcasts

• Blizzard Watch Podcast: The calculus of Diablo’s seasons
• Lore Watch Podcast: Kobolds and the real life origins of in-game creatures

This week Liz Patt joined our usual hosts on the Blizzard Watch Podcast, because she’s our go-to Diablo maven, and somebody has to explain not only the reliquaries thing, but also what the heck is up with this Diablo 3 seasonal rollover? Plus, Infinite Pirate Dragon. Enough said.

Matt and Joe were joined by Eric for the Lore Watch podcast this week, which discussed the real-life inspiration for creatures like Kobolds, including folklore and fairy tales. It’s a very interesting listen.

And now, I need to find a mop, and then the weekend is calling my name. See you next week.