Heroes of the Storm announces new characters: Warcraft’s Rexxar and StarCraft’s Artanis

Heroes of the Storm’s roster keeps growing.

Blizzard showcased three new heroes for the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) today during the Gamescom show in Cologne, Germany. The first one, Kharazim the Monk from Diablo, we already knew about. He can perform as either a melee fighter or healer. The two other characters are entirely new.

The first is Rexxar, a ranged warrior from Warcraft who fights alongside his bear companion, Misha. The other is Artanis, the first warrior-type character from Starcraft revealed for the game. Artanis will be available to anyone who preorders the upcoming Starcraft II expansion Legacy of the Void.

Heroes of the Storm came out in June and represents (along with Hearthstone: Heroes of the Storm) Blizzard’s new focus on free-to-play games. Adding new content like characters is vital for keeping players interested.

In its quarterly report yesterday, Activision pointed out games like Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, and Destiny that have attracted players and spending. Combined, they have more than 70 million registered players and have generated over $1.25 billion in total spending.