BlizzCon 2024 cancelled, but promised to return ‘in the coming years’
Blizzard Entertainment has canceled this year’s BlizzCon fan convention, which was expected to take place in Anaheim, California in November. The company, now owned by Microsoft, announced the cancellation Thursday but promised to bring the event back “in the coming years.”
“After careful consideration over the past year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024,” Blizzard posted a message on its website. “This decision has not been taken lightly, as BlizzCon remains a very special event for all of us, and we know many of you are looking forward to it. While we are approaching this year differently and we have explored different event formats in the past, you can rest assured that we are as excited as ever to bring BlizzCon back in the years to come.”
Instead, Blizzard expects to announce details about its upcoming slate of games, such as World of Warcraft: The War Within And Diablo 4‘s Vessel of Hatred expansion – later this year, alone and at “other trade shows” such as Gamescom, scheduled for August 21 to 24 in Cologne, Germany. Overwatch 2 esports are still on the schedule for Dreamhack Dallas and Dreamhack Stockholm, Blizzard wrote, while in person World of Warcraft Events are being organized to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary. “While these events are distinct from BlizzCon, we are using all our creativity and imagination to ensure they reflect the same spirit of celebration and togetherness,” Blizzard said.
This year’s BlizzCon was expected to mark the second year in a row that the event would be held in person, after being canceled in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The show went digital in 2021 and was canceled again in 2022. BlizzCon 2024 would also have been the first event since Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard closed. That deal lasted 21 months. Months later, Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees across its gaming divisions, including heavy cuts at Activision Blizzard.
BlizzCon is typically Blizzard’s big event, where the company announces its biggest games and updates. Blizzard does have the above World of Warcraft And Diablo 4 expansions this year, but there may not be much else to come after the developer’s self-titled survival game was canceled alongside the layoffs. The survival game was announced in 2022 as “a vast realm of possibilities, waiting to be explored” – and the studio’s first new franchise since then Overwatch in 2016. The game was reportedly in development for six years before being canceled. according to Bloomberg. Overwatch 2Hero’s planned story mode, Hero Missions, was also canceled last year, with the story missions reportedly in jeopardy, at. Then there may be little else left to headline a show.
Blizzard fans are understandably upset about the event’s cancellation. In addition to new game announcements, BlizzCon is also a rare place where players – some of whom have been playing online for years – meet and mingle.