"Heroes of the Dorm" Announced

BOSTON--Today during Blizzard's big PAX East panel, the developer announced new details around Heroes of the Storm, the studio's upcoming MOBA.

First, Blizzard announced "Heroes of the Dorm," a new eSports gaming event that will see the best collegiate North American teams duke it out to win college tuition. There will be $450,000 up for grabs at the event, which will be televised on ESPN. The Heroes of the Dorm event represents the first live televised coverage of a collegiate eSports event on ESPN.

"College sports do great things for student athletes--they help pay for schooling, build teamwork and communication skills, and create lasting memories," Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime said. “We believe eSports has the same kind of power,and this tournament aims to bring positive experiences like these to college gamers. We can't wait to fill out our fantasy brackets and cheer on a new generation of eSports athletes as they compete in Heroes of the Storm."

The Heroes of the Dorm tournament is open to any current college student in the US and Canada. Tournament play will take place across three rounds.

• · Open Qualifiers – Begin March 28
• · Single-Elimination Bracket Play (Round of 64) – Begins April 11
• · The Heroic Four live event to be held in late April

All five members of the winning team will each receive up to $25,000 per year in college tuition for their remaining years of undergrad schooling.

"Seniors and grad students with no remaining years of enrollment will receive one year's worth of tuition to help repay student loans (or an equivalent cash prize if the student does not have any remaining student loans)," Blizzard said. "Each player whose team emerges from the Round of 64 and makes it to the Heroic Four will take home a top-of-the-line gaming PC and officially licensed Heroes of the Storm peripherals and accessories."

More information on Heroes of the Dorm is available at the event's website.

Blizzard also revealed new plans to make Heroes of the Storm a more welcoming place, part of which will involve allowing players to mute allies. Another component of this is Clan support (so people can choose who they play with), which will be available through an upcoming patch.