Blizzard Watch WeeklyNov 29, 2025 5:00 pm CT

Blizzard Watch Weekly: Planning our beachfront homes (and other WoW news)

It’s been a quiet holiday week in the US, which means news has been a little thin as everyone scatters for the holidays. However, next week (and the week after) are looking packed with new patches, new phases, new seasons, and a whole lot more. So hold on to your holiday shopping, because we have a lot of games to get through.

Here’s a rundown of what happened this week, as well as what’s coming up next week… including player housing.

What happened this week?

Blizzard finally announced the official Midnight release date: March 2. This is honestly a little later than I expected, but it gives me extra time to start forum arguments about transmog, so I’m going to roll with it.
Free realm transfers opened up for players on Classic Anniversary Edition servers, so anyone who wants to jump ship before The Burning Crusade launches should take advantage of this now. (Particularly hardcore players, since TBC won’t have hardcore realms.)
The Diablo 3 team announced the game’s next seasonal rollover: Season 37 starts on December 5, and it brings back one of my favorite season themes, Kanai’s Cube-o-Rama. (Blizzard doesn’t call it that, but honestly they should.)
This week it’s the World Champion Hearthstone Tavern Brawl, and it’s a fun new brawl that lets you try out previous world champion decks — all in their unnerfed glory.
December’s trading post in WoW was just announced, and it’s suitably frosty. Look forward to picking up some winter-ready transmog and the cutest baby seal I’ve ever seen.

Without much in the way of news, we did get out some guides and features this week that you may want to check out:

Ten decor drops from legacy raids and dungeons to pick up on Player Housing day one (day one is this Tuesday)
How to use WoW’s built-in Cooldown Manager, which is going to be our primary option for ability tracking in Midnight — so you’ll want to get used to it (and maybe decide if it can really replace your WeakAuras).
From Hearthsteel to Sparkle Pony, a brief history of Blizzard controversies (to spice up your holiday arguments)

What’s happening next week (and beyond)

December 2: WoW patch 11.2.7 launches with Player Housing early access!
Through December 2: You have a tiny window of time to pick up the latest WoW Twitch Drop, a comfy purple sweatsuit ensemble that will be ideal for lounging around in your new house.
December 5: Diablo 3 Season 37 launches (Kanai’s Cube-o-Rama!)
Through December 7: WoW’s 21st anniversary celebration
December 9: Mists of Pandaria Classic Phase 3 launches with Throne of Thunder
December 9: Diablo 4 Season 11 launches, adding a host of angelic powers for players
December 9: Legion Remix Phase 5 launches, adding catchup mechanics and possibly some additional mystery content.
Through January 12: Free character transfers available from Classic anniversary realms to other Classic realms for players who don’t want to continue to The Burning Crusade.
January 13: The Burning Crusade Classic expansion pre-patch launches on the anniversary realms! (We don’t yet have a confirmed date for the expansion itself.)
Through January 19: Legion Remix
Until they’re gone: BlizzCon 2026 tickets are on sale.

Other things we’re playing, watching, and more

We’re pretty excited for the upcoming games awards season but particularly the indie games. Here’s a list of the indie games nominated for The Game Awards this year, and they’re all worth checking out. The awards are on December 11 if you want to see the winners
Want more indie games? The Indie Game Awards also announced nominees recently. This list contains a lot more indie titles and they are also very much worth checking out. These awards are on December 18, so you’ve got a little longer to wait.
It’s holiday sales season, and some of our very favorite games are on sale. Since we already own them, we can only recommend them to you.