COVID-19 continues to be the annoying flatmate who keeps eating all the food in your cupboard and drinking all the beer in the fridge, as it deprives us of another of the year’s landmark gaming conventions.
Blizzard have officially confirmed that BlizzCon 2020 is not going ahead, as a result of the public health issues from the Coronavirus pandemic.
In a post on the official BlizzCon blog, BlizzCon executive producer Saralyn Smith said making the decision not to hold the event, originally slated for November, had been a very difficult decision, and flagged the possibility of something – likely a virtual event – early next year.
Hello Blizzard community,
Several weeks ago, I shared an update about our uncertainty around holding BlizzCon this year. Since then, a lot has changed . . . and a lot also hasn’t changed. During this time, we’ve had many discussions about what holding a convention could look like in light of all the health and safety considerations we’d want to make. We’ve also talked about different paths we could take, and how each one could be complicated by fluctuations in national and local health guidelines in the months ahead. Ultimately, after considering our options, we’ve come to the very difficult decision to not have BlizzCon this year.
We’re feeling deeply disappointed about this decision, and imagine many of you will feel the same. I truly love BlizzCon, and I know that’s a sentiment shared by everyone at Blizzard. We will sorely miss connecting with so many of you at the convention and “recharging our geek batteries” this fall.
But we will meet again!
We’re talking about how we might be able to channel the BlizzCon spirit and connect with you in some way online, far less impacted by the state of health and safety protocols for mass in-person gatherings. We’d want to do this as soon as we could, but given that this is new-ish territory and the different factors involved, it will most likely be sometime early next year. BlizzCon is also a stage for big esports events in Blizzard games each year, so we’re also looking into alternatives for supporting some of the high-level competition that would normally take place at the show.
We’ll tell you more about our plans as they develop—but in the meantime, we hope to see you exploring the Shadowlands, hanging out in the Tavern, pushing the payload (do it!), and wherever else in the Blizzard universes you may roam.
Stay safe and stay well,
Saralyn Smith
Whirlwind Barbarian, Executive Producer of BlizzCon
BlizzCon is an absolutely massive affair, with more than 35,000 attendees over its three days at the Anaheim Convention Centre in Los Angeles; tickets sell out in minutes.
It’s not just an opportunity for Blizzard to unveil their latest Overwatch hero or announce their upcoming World of Warcraft expansions, it’s a unique opportunity for the Blizzard fan community and creators to come together, share their love of the worlds the company has created,
The musical performance closing out the event is always epic too – in 2018 I saw Muse, and in 2017 it was none other than Weird Al Yankovic – and for those who can’t get tickets to the coveted main event, there’s also the unofficial PlazaCon happening outside, with food trucks, cosplayers, and fans enjoying the atmosphere.
It’s also an incredibly welcoming and supportive environment – regardless of where people are from or how they choose to identify, BlizzCon is a space where they can come together as a community and feel connected, valued, and part of something special.
BlizzCon really is an event that has to be seen and experienced to be believed – and the fact it’s not happening this year is more disappointing news gamers didn’t need.
