Blizzard Watch Podcast

The new Zul'jan quest line just went live, so we're looking forward to World of Warcraft patch 12.1, which includes a new Player Housing exterior. Maybe. We hope. And we're not Monkey's Paw-ing this thing either, so don't act like we said it and that's why it's on the store. We already firmly rejected that possibility, so it is not on us if it goes down like that.Speaking of Monkey's Paws, Summer Games Done Quick is live, and Microsoft took that as a challenge, seeing if they could finish games as a whole really quickly by firing 20% of Xbox employees. This included closing many iconic game studios, some of which are going independent (again), and some being bought out by another party. There are some silver linings here, but it's a tough summer for people who make or enjoy games.A new Hearthstone expansion also released this week, so we have the lowdown on Escape from Violet Hold. It involves a jailbreak and Vanessa Van Cleef, so we're going out on a high note.

We are jumping right in to Turbulent Timeways this week, which have returned until August. It's a great time to level an alt, before we roll into patch 12.1 and all its trolly goodness, though that's on the PTR now. There's a new Trading Post, which means lots of talk about transmog and its many endgame metas. The Darkspear Dash was the highlight of our week, but we wish there were more opportunities to have rainbow streamers on our feet at all times. Again, end game.This week we got the news that Le Sserafim are coming back to close out BlizzCon 2026. Which, by the way, is both happening, and is happening in like, two months. Yikes.We close it out with a few faves that are on sale for the Steam Summer Sale, and there are a lot (including Pacific Driveand The Long Dark, which they didn't mention on the show, but I write the summary so I do what I want).

Do you remember how last week we were talking about how voidy and purple the Midnight expansion has been? Well, hold on to your shorts, because patch 12.1 has been announced and it's acid green and snaky. We're shook, but especially Liz, who doesn't particularly enjoy snakes, and wishes there was a filter like arachnophobia mode, where all the snakes turned into crabs. There are so many new features announced already, from the new Lairs, which are sort of a new version of World Bosses, all the way to a WoW Discord integration, which we're a little skeptical is all that useful.Also not purple is the Midsummer Fire Festival, which has come to WoW until July. There are a ton of orange rewards to collect, including a very hot new mount.There are also new seasons coming soon to Diablos 3 and 4, and for Diablo 4 this includes a collab with Overwatch, bringing some of those hero skins into Sanctuary. This is just making me wonder when we'll get that Raynor skin for Druids. Or do Druids seem more like Tychus?

If you thought the purplest expansion couldn't get purpler, patch 12.0.7 of World of Warcraft proves us all wrong with yet another Void-themed event. When do all these void shenanigans end? Well, we'll keep doing them, as long as transmog is on the line -- and it is! I hope you like yours purple, and I hope you didn't blow all your Marl on the previous sets of purple Void transmog. You did? Ah, pity. There's also a surfboard mount, if you're into other sorts of serious end game activities.Then, the cohosts muse on what's next for WoW Classic. We're not saying they're doing the whole historically accurate Siege of Orgrimmar 18 month tier, but we are wondering when we'll hear what happens next.

We start off this week's podcast talking about a few upcoming things we've already sort of discussed -- WoW patch 12.0.7 is coming next week, as is the next season of Overwatch. We have a few gripes on how the Overwatch story is being delivered, but next season looks okay. We're much more enthusiastic about the stuff coming for Diablo. And then things get wild, when we start discussing Summer Game Fest, and all the new titles we're excited to see, ranging from the headline blockbusters all the way down to little murder mysteries that might not actually be murder mysteries.Plus, speaking of murders, Destiny 2 just got its final patch. RIP, too pure for this world.

Because of the Blizzard Watch Site Curse, the day after we recorded the podcast, the release date for patch 12.0.7 was announced, because that's just how that works. It's June 16, and you're welcome. That also comes with changes to gear repair costs, which we talked about a bit last week, but Joe has a hot take that goes a step further. It's a new month, so that means a new round of FOMO transmog. This time it's Tauren edition.There was a new Hearthstone expansion announced, featuring Vanessa VanCleef, Escape from Violet Hold. A new Hearthstone expansion announcement also means the Battlegrounds mid-season shakeup, and another weird Darkmoon Faire gatcha game pet. Luckily, this time it's Cute Thun, a horrifying take on C'thun all our podcasters think is too creepy to be cute, even weird offbeat kinda cute.It's also a good time for Diablo fans, with things like solo self-found and Obol cap changes. And it's a good time for all gaming fans, because Summer Game Fest is imminent, and we've already had several announcements that have us truly excited.Plus, Cory has a soundbite idea that should make everyone happy. Sort of.