BlizzCon 2024 has been canceled

1 week ago

Blizzard has announced it will not clasp BlizzCon, nan publisher’s yearly instrumentality convention, this year. “After observant information complete nan past year, we astatine Blizzard person made nan determination not to clasp BlizzCon successful 2024,” Blizzard wrote connected its website.

Instead of BlizzCon, Blizzard wrote that it would beryllium holding other, smaller events passim nan twelvemonth and mentioned participating successful different waste and acquisition shows, specified arsenic Gamescom. Additionally, 2024 marks nan 30th day of World of Warcraft, pinch Blizzard stating that it’s readying “multiple, global, in-person events” arsenic good arsenic sharing updates for WoW’s 10th description , The War Within, and Diablo IV’s first description , Vessel of Hatred.

Despite this year’s cancellation, Blizzard says nan arena will return successful nan future: “While we’re approaching this twelvemonth otherwise and arsenic we person explored different arena formats successful nan past, remainder assured that we are conscionable arsenic excited arsenic ever to bring BlizzCon backmost successful early years.”

Last twelvemonth was a engaged 1 for nan World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2 publisher. It formally closed its acquisition by Microsoft to nan tune of $68.7 billion, fought ineligible battles against said acquisition in nan US and the UK, and reorganized nan company’s C-suite pinch CEO Bobby Kotick leaving aft much than 30 years astatine nan helm.

Though BlizzCon has been astir since 2005, it has been canceled a number of times since then. In 2020, nan covid-19 pandemic necessitated BlizzCon’s cancellation pinch nan arena returning in an online format. However, successful 2022, BlizzCon was canceled again amidst state and national workplace harassment lawsuits. The arena returned erstwhile again successful 2023.

The cancelation of BlizzCon 2024 comes arsenic different notable video crippled event, E3, yet gave up nan shade past year and amidst a video crippled manufacture grappling pinch unprecedented layoffs and financial struggles. Earlier this year, Microsoft laid disconnected 1,900 employees crossed Activision Blizzard and Xbox, 1 of nan largest azygous video crippled manufacture layoff events of nan past 2 years.