BlizzCon 2018 kicks off later today and as promised, Blizzard Entertainment has released the Overwatch World Cup Viewer. It can be accessed in the Battle.net launcher via the “Region” drop-down menu. Download it and you’ll have a wider range of spectating options when matches for the Overwatch World Cup go live.

Though it’s currently in beta, Blizzard is working on a permanent version for the future. Speaking about the viewer’s power, the developer said in a blog post, “We’ve taken professional esports observer tools from the big stage and put them in your hands at home so you can curate your viewing experience. Watch live games alongside hundreds of thousands of other players around the world from all of the first or third-person, birds’, or worms’-eye views that are most important to you.”

For shortcuts, go to the Spectate menu of the viewer. Head to the Controls tab in the Settings and you’ll find all the available shortcuts (alternatively, they can be viewed in the official blog post). Some of the options included are the ability to spectate a single player for the entire match, an overhead map with hero icons to see team fights playing out, and much more. Many of the tools are also used by the Overwatch World Cup observer team, so there’s plenty of customization to be had.

After several qualifying stages, the Overwatch World Cup 2018 will conclude at BlizzCon. The quarterfinals will take place on November 2nd, with the semi-finals and finals scheduled for November 3rd.

Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch won’t be seeing a new map announced at BlizzCon 2018, bucking a yearly tradition since the game’s release. However, while new map content is in development, director Jeff Kaplan recently announced something else in the latest Developer Update video: the Overwatch World Cup Viewer. It’ll be coming before BlizzCon as a “special beta feature”.

Along with watching Overwatch World Cup matches from any camera or viewpoint via the Battle.net client, players can also slow down or speed up footage. Replays can be viewed as well, in case you want to rewatch a certain play. Perhaps the coolest thing is that the Overwatch World Cup Viewer will lay the groundwork for the function to come to all platforms and match types.

Dare we dream for this technology to arrive in time for Overwatch League Season 2? One could hope. Till then, the Overwatch World Cup Viewer will be a great way to experience the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals of the global tourney at BlizzCon. BlizzCon 2018 takes place on November 2nd and 3rd.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced the schedule for BlizzCon 2018, the company’s annual convention for all things World of Warcraft, Overwatch, StarCraft, Heroes of the Storm, and much more. As it turns, Diablo will be appearing as well. Not only will it kick off the convention at 12:30 PM PST on November 2nd with “Diablo: What’s Next”, you can also look forward to the “Diablo: World and Q&A” at 5:45 PM PST on November 3rd.

Of course, “What’s Next” sessions will also be held for Overwatch, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and Heroes of the Storm on November 2nd. StarCraft 2 fans shouldn’t worry – the “What’s Next” session for the RTS will be held on November 3rd at 12:30 PM PST.

The Overwatch World Cup quarterfinals will all be held on November 2nd, starting from 12:15 PM PST. The semifinals will be hosted on November 3rd from 11:30 AM PST onwards, with the finals coming at 3:45 PM PST. E-sports tournaments for Heartstone, World of Warcraft, and StarCraft 2 will also be held, so check out the full schedule here for more information. BlizzCon 2018 will run from November 2nd to November 3rd.