Heroes of the Storm closed beta begins this January

A closed beta for Blizzard's eagerly awaited multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), Heroes of the Storm, is set to begin January 13, 2015.

Blizzard president and co-founder Mike Morhaime announced the date during the opening keynote of Blizzcon today, saying, "We're excited to get more of you into the game to continue helping us make it even better."

Adding to the excitement of a beta date, Morhaime also revealed new heroes and new Battlegrounds. The new Heroes revealed include: Jaina and Thrall from World of Warcraft, and the Lost Vikings. The new Battlegrounds are Sky Temple, a desert map in which heroes battle turrets flanking a central Egyptian-like structure, and Tomb the Spider Queen, a dark, subterranean dungeon that houses arachnid beasts. Ranked Play was also confirmed as an upcoming feature.

Heroes of the Storm is currently in the final phase of Technical Alpha.