Blizzard has decided to cancel its annual fan event, BlizzCon, for this year. The company stated on its website, “We at Blizzard have decided not to have BlizzCon in 2024 after thinking about it carefully over the past year.”
Blizzard announced it will not host BlizzCon this year but will organize smaller events instead. The company plans to take part in different trade shows, including Gamescom. 2024 is also the 30th anniversary of World of Warcraft.
Blizzard intends to celebrate with several worldwide events. They will also provide updates on the 10th expansion of World of Warcraft, The War Within, and the first expansion of Diablo IV, Vessel of Hatred.
Even though the event is canceled this year, Blizzard mentions that it will happen again in the future.
“While we’re approaching this year differently and as we have explored different event formats in the past, rest assured that we are just as excited as ever to bring BlizzCon back in future years.”
Last year was eventful for the publisher of World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2. It completed a major $68.7 billion merger with Microsoft, faced legal challenges in the US and the UK regarding this deal, and changed its top leadership with CEO Bobby Kotick stepping down after over 30 years.
BlizzCon started in 2005 but has been canceled several times. The event was called off in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic and held online when it returned. In 2022, BlizzCon was canceled again due to lawsuits related to workplace harassment. The event was held again in 2023.
The cancellation of BlizzCon 2024 occurs as another major gaming event, E3, was permanently ended last year. This is happening while the video game sector faces significant layoffs and financial difficulties. Earlier this year, Microsoft let go of 1,900 workers from Activision Blizzard and Xbox, marking one of the biggest layoffs in the video game industry over the past two years.
What we think?
I think Blizzard will still celebrate World of Warcraft’s 30th anniversary with smaller events, which sounds fun. They’ll share updates about new expansions for World of Warcraft and Diablo IV at other big gaming shows like Gamescom.
Even though BlizzCon is canceled this year, Blizzard seems excited to bring it back later. The video game industry is tough right now, but Blizzard is finding new ways to connect with fans.
