The game's cinematic trailer recycled models from other Blizzard property cinematics. The most striking difference is with Diablo, who's depiction in-game is based on his design from Diablo 2, while the trailer's depiction comes from Diablo 3.

The Chinese version of Stitches has his bones and gore covered with a purple polka-dotted fabric to avoid scaring children.

When recording dialogue for a character, the voice actors gave three different versions of each line.

Sgt. Hammer replaced Edmund Duke and Horace Warfield from previous builds as the Siege Tank hero.

Falstad's Buccaneer skin appears to be based off of the Hearthstone card Skycap'n Kragg, as the description provided to Kragg in The Grand Tournament trailer also describes Buccaneer Falstad.

Artanis's purifier skin palette 2 and 3 appear to be based off of Evangelion series mechs, Unit-02 and Unit-01 respectively.

Palette 2 for Lt. Morales's default skin is based on the Alliance from Warcraft.
Her master skin's second palette appears to be based on the Varia suit from the Metroid series, and her master skin's third palette appears to be based off of Arcee from Transformers.

Valla's name comes from the short story Hatred and Discipline, by Micky Neilson.

When clicked on enough, Rexxar will make a number of references. These include:

• Quoting Duran Duran's "Hungry like the Wolf".
• Making a joke about hunters in World of Warcraft taking undeserved loot.
• Continuing his animal pun joke from Warcraft 3.
• Showing frustration over people thinking he looks like Batman.
• Referencing Wheaties breakfast cereal by using their old "Breakfast of Champions" catchphrase.
• Playing Hearthstone, where he is a character for the hunter class.

When clicked on enough, Jaina will make a number of references. These include:

• "Azarath Metrion Zinthos", a reference to Teen Titans, and the words Raven says when casting a spell.
• The story of Rapunzel, where a young girl is trapped and raised inside a tower.
• Lyrics from the song "Do You Believe in Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful.
• Lyrics from the song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
• Referencing Disney's Frozen with the line "By the way, if you're holding on for a Frozen reference just let it go."

The third tint of Nova's Dominion Ghost skin depicts Kerrigan before she was infested by the Zerg in StarCraft II.

In the Tomb of the Spider Queen, clicking the yellow scarab gem at the top of the map will trigger and animation of Harrison Jones from World of Warcraft sliding down to grab the gem and climb back up.

In the Sky Temple Map, by clicking on a stone plate cover a well beneath the mercenary camp, the plate will break and Jones will climb out before flying away on a magic carpet, right before the Spider Queen tries to grab him. At the end of a match, he will come by to watch the base explode.

Jones can also by found in the background art for the Tomb of the Spider Queen.

There is a Duck Hunt mini-game in Kharazim's main menu, with the Treasure Golbin from Diablo 3 as the dog. The mini-game also includes very similar 8-bit sound effects.

In the Leoric main menu, clicking a falling meteor in the background will cause a goblin to jump out of a portal in the sky.

On the Kael'Thas main screen, clicking the stars in the background will form a crab constellation which will say "Hi, I'm Crabby. It looks like you're easter-egg hunting. Can I Help?"

In Blackheart's Bay, two sharks are being held on each vertical side of the map. If either is hit with a skill shot the sharks will be freed and leap into the water.

When clicked on, Abathur will say "Work harder, better. Make faster, stronger, evolution never over". This is a reference to the Daft Punk song "Harder Better Faster".

He will also joke about the rarity of Ashbringer, and mentions that his design is likely to change due to Blizzard's tendency towards redesigns.

When clicked on enough, Tassadar will make jokes about the large size of Warcraft shoulderpads.
He makes reference to units from Starcraft that are no longer available in Starcraft 2, and gets frustrated when the void ray is mentioned, a unit from Starcraft 2.
One of his quotes also breaks the fourth wall by mentioning Starcraft 1 directly, and how far videogames have advanced since then.

He will also say "Here's my number. Khala me maybe,", a reference to the song "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.

When clicked on enough, Zeratul will say "speak slowly and carry a large warp blade". This is a reference to the quote "Speak softly and carry a big stick," by Theodore Roosevelt.

He also references Star Wars, quoting part of the prophecy about a chosen one bringing balance to the force.

The game contains references to a recurring joke involving "Darkness" contacting various characters, which dates back to Warcraft 3's Dread Lord and Demon Hunter units.

If you click on Valla enough, she will make a reference to Elmur Fudd from Looney Tunes with the line "Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting demons!"

Sonya references the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie's "What is best in life" speech and the amazonian women from Futurama when you click on her.
She lists off Conan's "best in life" ambitions, skipping the line about hearing the lamentation of the enemy's women.

She also says "You, death by snu snu,", which references the Amazonian execution sentence in Futurama.

Malfurion's quote "I am an archdruid, not a prophet. Get your lore straight." is a reference to Nature's Prophet from Dota 2 who used Malfurion's name and model in Warcraft DotA.

Tychus's 2nd palette for his base skin replaces the pin-up girl on his armor with Widowmaker from Overwatch.
His 3rd palette replaces the pin-up girl with Tracer, also from Overwatch.

Queen Nightshade's line "what a joyous night to have a curse" is a reference to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and the text box reading "what a horrible night to have a curse", which appears during the transition from day to night.

One of Gazlowe's quotes, "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moon's light", is a quote from The Joker in the 1989 Batman movie.

He also recites The Konami Code.

The game was originally called Blizzard DOTA, and was planned as a custom game for Starcraft II, but the name was later changed to Blizzard All-Stars after trademark disputes with Valve. Some time after, the final project was renamed to Heroes of the Storm.

When you click on The Elite Tauren Chieftain in the selection screen he says "I bring the Megadeth". This is a reference to the Thrash Metal band, Megadeth.

Rotating a hero in the character select screen too fast will cause them to go into a stun or dizzy animation state.

Kharazim's default skin's third tint references Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a monk with a blue arrow-shaped tattoo on his head.

The second tint of Kharazim's Jade Dragon skin references Aang's predecessor, Roku. He wore red and black clothing with a fire motif, and had a white beard and topknot.

The third tint of Kharazim's Jade Dragon skin references Goku from Dragon Ball, a martial artist known for wearing orange and blue (and as a Super Saiyan, having bright yellow hair).

When clicked on enough, Kerrigan will make a number of references. This includes:

• Red Bull, with the line "Looks like those energy drinks actually do give you wings,".
• The Mourning Bride by William Congreve, with the line "Hell hath no fury like a woman swarmed,", which is an homage to the line "Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd."
• The Genie from Aladdin, with the line "Phenominal psionic powers, icky stick living space,".
• The Borg from Star Trek, with their phrase "You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile,".
• Killer Queen by the band Queen, with the line "I'm a killer queen. Guaranteed to blow your mind."