Blizzard showcases three new Heroes of the Storm

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Blizzard has revealed not one, not two, but three new heroes heading to Heroes of the Storm, and hailing from from Diablo, Warcraft, and StarCraft,. One of them we already knew about: Kharazim, the Monk of Ivgorod, who Blizzard announced would be joining the action during the PC Gaming Show in June. Now, however, we've got a proper trailer, and more information about the man and his magic.

Also coming to the game are Rexxar, the legendary half-Orc, half-Ogre Beastmaster, and his loyal bear Misha, who follows Rexxar around on the battlefield, harassing and attacking enemies, absorbing damage, and stunning opponents with a targeted charge ability. And finally, there's Artanis, the leader of the Protoss, who will be the first Warrior hero from StarCraft to join the fray. His powers haven't been revealed yet, but Blizzard said he'll have "some heavy hitting abilities" for players who prefer an up-close and personal style of play.

Blizzard also lifted the cover off a new Diablo-themed battleground called Infernal Shrines, so named for the three shrines it contains. These shrines intermittently gather power that can be harnessed by players who are willing to fight for it. "Teams can unleash this power by activating a shrine, defeating its guardians, and summoning a devastating Punisher to fight for them. These powerful bosses will spawn with one of three deadly affixes—Arcane, Frozen, or Mortar— and will hunt down nearby enemy Heroes as well as pushing the lane closest to their shrine."

Blizzard plans to reveal more about the new Heroes and battleground during a livestreamed show from Gamescom, which will take place at 9am PDT.

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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.