When I first saw Hearthstone at PAX East back in 2013, I assumed it would be a big deal. What I didn't expect is in those few years Hearthstone would grow to a title that (as of this writing) commands over 200,000 concurrent viewers across multiple language streams on Twitch, featuring global tournaments which have since become known as the Hearthstone Championship Tour. Even more unimaginable on the show floor of PAX East is that the esports side of Hearthstone (and other Blizzard games) would grow to the point that Blizzard would buy their own Los Angeles studio to accommodate all of the events that seem to always be happening. Well, this is our reality. Hearthstone is bigger than ever, the Blizzard Arena exists, and following this stop in Burbank, CA, the Hearthstone Championship Tour will be headed to Amsterdam.
When we first started writing about the new Blizzard Arena, our Discord server was filled with people scratching their heads. Blizzard has a massive campus in Irvine, Burbank is on the complete opposite side of Los Angeles, and it just seemed odd. Well, after getting a full studio tour, it all makes a lot of sense. One thing that I think folks watching Hearthstone on Twitch really don't realize is the sheer scale of the production of the various Blizzard events you watch on Twitch. Back stage at the Blizzard Arena is a labyrinth of different rooms, many filled with dozens of different audio/visual engineers managing every aspect of what you see on Twitch.

The ...