Here's All the Starcraft 2 News From BlizzCon 2016

At BlizzCon's opening ceremony today, there were a bunch of reveals, some of which includes new content for Starcraft II. Even more was announced at the Starcraft II panel, and we've rounded it all up.

Blizzard announced a special bundle called the War Chest. It's described as a purchasable "virtual treasure map" that grants you new content as you play the game. And the more you play Blizzard's RTS, the more you'll earn. War Chests will have their own season with unique content for each one. Blizzard's currently planning to host two seasons a year, both being connected to a major esports event. Additionally, a portion of the sales from each purchase directly supports esports intitiatives.

Some of the types of content you can expect from the War Chest include faction-specific skins, such as the Tal'darim, Primal Zerg, and Terran mercenaries. Digital comics will also release with each new season. More details will be shared in the first half of 2017.

As for Starcraft II's cooperative mode, a new commander is on the way. The infested Alexi Stukov, who is part Zerg and part Terran, is coming, and he's bringing Siege Tanks that are equipped with tentacles. His units borrow a little from both Zerg and Terran, which is reflected in both appearance and mechanics.

Furthermore, two new maps are planned for cooperative play, the first of which is called Miner Evacuation, a planet overrun by infested units. As the name implies, you'll have to evacuate the stranded miners by protecting the shuttles they're boarding to escape.

The second map is a resurrection of Left2Die called "Dead of Night," which was originally released in 2011. It's coming to the co-op mode with updated features, "so that it packs more of a punch," but it'll also come with the same day-night cycle and the mutant infestation. In addition to the commander and maps, players will also get to see their mission scores and compare with friends on the Co-op Mission Leaderboards.

Additionally, the third and final episode of Nova Covert Ops is coming this month. Mission Pack 3 launches on November 22, and a new comic will release alongside it. Nova: The Keep has a "strong connection" with the final set of missions and is set shortly after Legacy of the Void's events.

Lastly, Blizzard and Google announced a partnership to use Starcraft II as a platform for research into the development of AI programming. Set to release next year, the API will allow anyone to "build and train their own AI agents to play StarCraft II," Google Deepmind's Oriol Vinyals said.

You can keep up to date on all the BlizzCon news through the links below and by keeping your address bar locked to GameSpot all weekend. However, if you want to gain access to the panels yourself, you'll have to buy a digital ticket.

• Overwatch's Next Character, Sombra, Officially Revealed
• Hearthstone's Next Expansion Revealed, Alongside Several New Cards
• All the New Hearthstone: Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Cards
• Diablo 3 Necromancer Class Confirmed
• Diablo 3 Adding a Retro, Diablo 1-Style Mode
• Blizzard Is Setting up Its Own Overwatch Competitive League
• Next Heroes of the Storm Playable Characters Revealed