Comic Con 2012 - Blizzard Publishing Panel

Micky Neilson, Dave Kosak and Michael Stackpole revealed details on the upcoming line up of World of Warcraft, Diablo III and StarCraft II novels and eBooks. The event was led by New York Times Best Selling Author Micky Neilson (Blizzard Publishing Lead), Dave Kosak (World of Warcraft Lead Quest Designer) and Michael Stackpole (science fiction and fantasy author).

Vol’jin, Shadows of the Horde

World of Warcraft: Vol’jin, Shadows of the Horde by Michael Stackpole will be published on April 2013.

The upcoming World of Warcraft patch 5.1 will focus a lot on the book’s plot. Players will meet Vol’jin throughout Pandaria in patch 5.1. He wants to dispense indiscriminate justice against Garrosh. He’ll make sure to be behind his downfall. In the novel, Vol’jin will have few contemplative moments at a Pandaria monastery, learning wisdom from the Pandaren.

The novel’s main characters are Vol’jin and Chen Stormstout.

We were told Vol’jin will be featured on patch 5.2 too. The developers are hard at work on a new Vol’jin NPC model and new Zandalari troll models in patch 5.1.

StarCraft II: Flashpoint

StarCraft II: Flashpoint by New York Times best selling author Christie Golden is coming out November 6th.

The novel gets into the relationship between Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan through flashbacks, and the novel starts right away seconds after the cinematic ending of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty when Raynor is carrying Sarah on his arms, and bridges out the gap between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm . We’ll find out what was Tychus’ outcome.

Micky was very mysterious on when Heart of the Swarm is coming out, but his voice tone hinted it’s not too far away. Take in mind Activision Blizzard Third Quarter Financial Results Conference Call is taking place on November 7th.

It’s possible the official announcement of Heart of the Swarm’s release date takes place prior to the conference call, or at the event itself. We will know sooner or later. Pre-order StarCraft II: Flashpoint (Nov 6).

World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects

A new eBook by Richard A. Knaak titled World of Warcraft: Dawn of the Aspects. This eBook will be available in four parts. The first part will be available on January 15th, 2013.

The Dragon Aspects are mortal now, and going through a lot of changes. We’ll see these characters before they became Aspects, we’ll see Galakron and the Proto drakes. Readers will explore a lot of past history with this four-part eBook.

Diablo III: Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls

Diablo III: Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls is an Anthology of five short stories from the Diablo III site, and two additional stories that aren’t focused on any specific class, aimed at expanding the Diablo III universe. This is a digital eBook to be available in Kindle.

Blizzard Entertainment Publishing Panel Video – Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Additional Sources