Blizzard Watch Weekly: Heading into a hazy future

Last week was a quiet one in Blizzard games, save for the disheartening news of layoffs on the Xbox team, even though they’re said not to be hitting Blizzard (so far). But turning to the games, we’re in a bit of a doldrums between releases, with a new Hearthstone expansion last week, a new Diablo 4 season the week before that, and a new WoW patch the week before that. Excitement over the last releases is fading (or will soon enough), but there’s practically nothing solid on the horizon (WoW patch 12.1 remains in the hazy future).

But for now, we will look back at the little that happened last week and the little that’s coming up this week.

What happened last week?

• Hearthstone just launched Escape from Violet Hold, with rule-breaking legendaries for each class, abilities you can prepare for a discounted mana cost, disguised minions that can be played on either side of the board, and bribe cards that will give a little something to you and a little something to your opponent. It’s all about the tradeoffs in the latest expansion, which comes with the usual meta shakeup. It’s a fun time to play (though I’m still sticking to Battlegrounds).
• This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl celebrates the Escape from Violet Hold expansion with the Violet Hold Recipe Brawl! Decks are provided this week to give you a preview of the expansion, so it’s a good way to dip your toes into the new meta (or finish quests that require you to play a specific class).
• Turbulent Timeways continues in World of Warcraft with another four more weeks of Timewalking. Battle for Azeroth is available through reset, and Shadowlands Timewalking starts on Tuesday.
• The latest Hearthstone gatcha game doesn’t have a new cute pet on offer, which considering the price tag may be a good thing.

What’s happening this week (and beyond)

• Through July 14: A new color of the plush murloc housing decor item is available as a Twitch Drop
• Through August 11: Turbulent Timeways running in Midnight

Other things we’re playing, watching, and more

The Steam Summer Sale and SGDQ are both over, so this week lacks last week’s excitement… plus with last week’s Microsoft layoffs, there’s not much good news in general gaming right now. Still, we have a new set of free games from the Epic Games Store, with Nova Lands and Tattoo Tycoon, both free through Thursday.

Our latest podcasts

• Blizzard Watch Podcast: Summer Games Done Quick and some depressing industry news
• Lore Watch Podcast: Alan Wake, Control, and the lore linking the Remedy universe
• Tavern Watch Plays Legend in the Mist, episode 1: Festival prep pandemonium!

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back next week with another weekly news recap!