Blizzard Battle.net App Has New Social Features In Beta

Published: October 5, 2017 9:31 PM /

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Blizzard Battle.net New Features Beta October 2017

The Blizzard Battle.net app, the client for Blizzard Entertainment's digital distribution service, has a number of new social features in beta testing according to a news post on Blizzard's official website.

Social features are the key focus of the latest beta version of the Blizzard Battle.net app. A new Social Tab allows you to easily manage chats with your friends in a simple interface. Next to the chat pane is a new Groups pane. Users can create Groups based on their interests and bring other people in with an invite link. Groups can have multiple chat and voice channels.  Further enhancing the customizability of your Blizzard Battle.net experience is the addition of Profiles. You can select an avatar, set an About message, and link your social media accounts for people to follow you elsewhere.

Participants in the beta will now have the ability to Appear Offline; this will allow them to continue playing games via the client while not having to worry about managing their social interactions with their friends. The ability to Appear Offline has existed in competing digital distribution clients such as Steam and Origin for several years. Each Blizzard game will treat appearing offline differently; for example, your Battle.net friends won't be able to see you online but your World of Warcraft guildmates and friends will be able to see that you're online within that particular game.

The beta for these new features is largely restricted to the Americas region at this time. Users in the Americas can opt-in to the beta by following a few simple steps: open the settings menu for the app, click on the "Beta" tab on the left-hand side, and then click "Switch to Beta version". The app will download the necessary files and request a restart of the app. Blizzard is looking to roll out these features to the wider world as soon as they feel comfortable doing so. In the meantime, they request that users send feedback to the appropriate section on the official forums.

What do you think of the new features added in the beta for the Blizzard Battle.net app? What features would you like to see added to the platform next? Let us know in the comments below!

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One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N