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BlizzCon 2010 kicks off at 11 a.m. pacific, noon Kotaku time, 2 p.m. eastern. Make sure t' check in for our liveblog a the day's big news. We hear it be going t' be a show that makes Diablo players very happy. me breath be officially held. More »

#blizzcon While fans begin lining up outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the official launch a BlizzCon 2010, let's check out what sort a Blizzard merchandise they'll be lining up for once they be inside! More »

During GDC Online, Blizzard's Battle.net project director Greg Canessa presented a "postmortem" for the latest version a the service, which enables online play 'n discussion for Blizzard's titles, most recently StarCraft 2. Speaking t' Joystiq before the talk, Canessa be happy t' discuss the recent past a the service with us, 'n talk a bit about the future.

Battle.net be in use by all 12 million World a Warcraft players, three-plus million StarCraft 2 players, 'n other crew, but it recently came t' the attention a an even larger audience when controversy arose over Blizzard's decision t' implement Real ID, requiring crew t' identify themselves by their real names on Battle.net. sea crew did not respond kindly t' the sudden 'n mandatory attachment a their real names t' their comments, flames 'n LOLcats, 'n that part a the plan be cut, with Real ID still being implemented in non-sea features.

"The vision behind Real ID," Canessa said, "be t' maintain parallel levels a identity: we have that sort a anonymous character level a identity, 'n then that Real ID tier that spans games, 'n there be incremental features that ye pillage for being part a the Real ID community. The vision for that spanned games, got into cross-game chat 'n so forth. In reality, the in-game social suite be very popular, the cross-game chat that we did, the stuff within StarCraft 2.

#scam World a Warcraft scams 'n scam artists be very real. ye got t' watch out, ye got t' be careful. Here be five ways ye, the player, can protect yourself. More »

Blizzcon's beginning t' develop a reputation for being a breeding ground for unmitigated face rocking. Last year, the show closed out with a performance by known World a Warcraft fanatic Ozzy Osbourne -- this year, the ending ceremonies will receive musical accompaniment from Tenacious D, whom we imagine be familiar with some a Blizzard's titles. We mean, just look at them.

The duo will perform new jams 'n old favorites during the closing moments a the show on October 23. a course, the event's been sold out since about fifteen seconds after tickets went on sale, so this news really only pertains t' people who be agile enough t' grab an entry pass. Or the diehard, presumably independently wealthy people willing t' shell out $39.95 t' stream the event on DirectTV.

#blizzard Blizzard couldn't possibly top the live Ozzy Osbourne concert that closed out BlizzCon 2009, but a concert by Jack Black 'n Kyle Glass a Tenacious D comes pretty damn close. More »

#statues Add StarCraft II's Kerrigan 'n World a Warcraft's Moonkin t' the assembly a statues based on Blizzard's big games, coming from DC Comics. At New York Comic-Con, I shot video a those debuting statues 'n the rest a the line. More »

There comes a time in all great directors' careers when they must choose between not another sequel, a video game adaptation 'n, in recent years, the almost-always-panned (but-oh-so-high-grossing) "reboot." Sam Raimi has apparently gone with Plan D: Disney's Wizard a Oz 3D prequel, reports Deadline.com. In making his choice, Raimi seemingly puts off directing the World a Warcraft movie, t' which he's been officially attached since last summer (he abandoned "Spider-Man 4" long ago).

While Legendary Pictures, which owns the WoW movie rights, has yet t' reveal it be next move, we have t' imagine the studio be now in hot pursuit a David Fincher. After all, the director has been heavily applauded for his adaptation a the "Facebook story" 'n would seem a likely candidate t' depict the dramatic significance a a billion-dollar fantasy sustained by socialized grinding.

Wait -- ye mean it be supposed t' be a live-action Warcraft universe movie? Like with orcs 'n elves 'n things? Yeah, we'd totally pick Oz, too.

Blizzard continues t' print money.

#blizzard In October a 2008, Blizzard proudly counted 11 million World a Warcraft subscribers worldwide. In December 2008 the number jumped t' 11.5. Now Blizzard updates the count t' 12 million, 22 months later. What took so long? More »

Blizzard today announced that WoW has topped 12 million subscribers, following the Wrath a the Lich King expansion launch in mainland China just over a month ago 'n in anticipation a the third expansion, Cataclysm, coming this holiday worldwide.

For a time, it seemed as though World a Warcraft's subscriber base be well on it be way t' 20 million -- somewhere in the ballpark a Australia's total population. Then, in December 2008, the game reached 11.5 million subscribers, 'n six months later, the number hadn't changed. It appeared the world's most popular subscription-based MMO had reached it be cap.

When Cataclysm be released on December 7, World a Warcraft will have passed it be sixth year in operation. 'n with 12 million-plus paying players? Wow.

#rumor A day after Amazon.com suggests a January release for World a Warcraft's Cataclysm expansion, MMO Champion uses a combination a patch info 'n official sea posts t' nail down December 7 as the date. What does Blizzard say? More »

#screengrab Fans can pillage up close 'n personal with Prince a Persia: Sands a Time's Chesty Jake in the Egyptian-themed Uldum zone in World a Warcraft's Cataclysm expansion. Thanks, Michael! More »

Activision's Bobby Kotick 'n EA's Jeff Brown engaged in a little Battlefield a Duty: Corporate Warfare 2 match this week, lobbing sound bites back 'n forth at each other. Kotick be first, boasting in the latest issue a Edge (via Next-Gen.biz) that his company allows it be studios t' maintain their independent cultures; citing Treyarch, the embattled Infinity Ward 'n Sledgehammer Games as examples. Kotick suggested that EA doesn't offer this luxury, 'n that be why Activision has successfully hired developers from it be competitor's ranks. "We have no shortage a opportunity t' recruit out a EA," he said. "that be their biggest challenge: it be stock options have no value. it be lost it be way."

a course, EA's corp comm VP Brown be quick t' respond: "[Kotick's] company be based on three game franchises -- one be a fantastic persistent world he had nothing t' do with; one be in steep decline; 'n the third be in the process a being destroyed by Kotick's own hubris." Though Brown didn't clarify which franchises he be referring t', we'll throw out three names for ye -- 'n ye can play the matching game! Here goes: Guitar Hero, Call a Duty 'n World a Warcraft.

The two probably had more t' say t' each other, but at that point the other players muted them both, 'n a few seconds later the actual match started up.

The online gaming industry analysts at Screen Digest recently shared some good news 'n bad news with Western MMO developers. The good? According t' their report, the MMO market in Europe 'n the U.S. increased t' $1.6 billion last year, up from $1.4 billion in 2008. However, the average revenue gained per MMO player declined 10 percent over the same time period, with recurring subscriptions pulling in around $13 million in 2009. (that be the bad news.)

This decline, a course, be a result a new business models in the MMO space, such as microtransactions 'n free-t'-play online titles. These new models appear t' be shaking things up a bit -- but we suppose as long as that first number keeps going up, the second one can do whatever it likes.

#barackobama Best known for Call a Duty 'n World a Warcraft, Activision Blizzard has joined a corporate initiative t' help improve literacy in science, technology, engineering 'n math (the STEAM fileds). More »

#blizzard Oddly coinciding with ArenaNet's article about allowing players t' communicate with guild crew using mobile devices, Blizzard reveals that offline mobile guild chat will be coming t' World a Warcraft as well. Fancy that! More »

#worldofwarcraft In China, World a Warcraft 'n censorship aren't strangers. Things like blood 'n skeletons be edited for The People's Republic, 'n the release a expansion Wrath a the Lich King be held up due t' content Chinese authorities found objectionable. More »

#mmo Red 5 Studios, the developer founded by former World a Warcraft team lead Mark Kern, finally unveiled it be long-in-the-making online shooter, Firefall today. The free-t'-play futuristic action game also has a futuristic release date. More »

#clips There be World a Warcraft Blizzard fans, 'n there be StarCraft Blizzard fans. What do ye pillage when the two meet? ye pillage a World a Warcraft StarCraft II mod. More »

#clips Kotaku favorite game blending artist David Stonecipher be at it again, giving us a look at how the characters a Mario's universe would look in World a Warcraft. More »

#wow Sideshow Collectibles want t' make sure it be Brewfest all year-long at yer place, with this replica a World a Warcraft's Tankard O' Terror. More »

#videogameclothing The gaming t-shirt people at Jinx have released their fall World a Warcraft clothing line, 'n fans a the game's most popular aquatic enemies really have something t' gurgle over. More »

#worldofwarcraft I never did put much stock in the idea that video games be "just games." More »

#starwars The creator a the Star Wars franchise, George Lucas, be suing the creators a the Jedi Mind thought technology tech. More »

The nominees for the first-ever Game Developers Choice Online Awards, which will be presented during the similarly named GDC Online on October 5 - 8, be announced earlier today. The list a candidates reads like a who's who a heavy hitters in the online gaming space, such as World a Warcraft (nominated for the Best Ongoing Live Game award), Star Trek Online (nominated for Best Online Visual) 'n League a Legends (nominated for ... like, everything.)

Winners will be announced 'n accolades will be distributed at the conference on the evening a October 7. t' see who's in the running for what, check out the full list a nominees posted after the jump.

#taiwan Whether it be StarCraft or Warcraft, game developer Blizzard has a look. It has style. Pizazz, if ye will. More »

#wow Because if ye do, it'll cost ye $88 million. More »

#robertkotick We already knew The folks behind World a Warcraft 'n Starcraft be hard at work on a totally new massively multiplayer online game. We didn't know that Activision Blizzard be pouring gobs a money into it. More »

#blizzard The folks behind World a Warcraft 'n Starcraft be hard at work on a new massively multiplayer online game. Know what that means? More »