Blizzard teases a 'reveal event' and new Overwatch animated short for Gamescom

Blizzard has announced its schedule of events for the upcoming Gamescom show in Germany, which will including the debut of a new Overwatch animated short, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and World of Warcraft pro play, dance and cosplay contests, and a mysterious "reveal ceremony." 

People lucky enough to attend live on the scene will have the opportunity to score some Blizzard swag, including "brand-new and convention-exclusive items," while the rest of us will have to be content with livestreams. The event will be preceded by a special preview video of all the playable content that will be available on the show floor, including a new Overwatch map, Fireside Gathering features for Hearthstone, a new Heroes of the Storm character and StarCraft 2 co-op commander, and a preview of the upcoming World of Warcraft 7.3 update.   

Gamescom doesn't get as much attention in North America as E3, but it's a big, big show: The 2016 event featured roughly 877 exhibitors from 54 countries, and drew an estimated attendance of 345,000 people. The Overwatch animated short The Last Bastion made its debut at last year's show, too.  

Gamescom 2017 runs August 22-26 in Cologne, Germany, while the Blizzard events will kick off at 6 pm CEST/12 pm EDT on August 23. The full schedule is up at gamescom.blizzard.com.
 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.