Following the tide of the gaming industry, Blizzard Entertainment has announced that their annual fan convention, BlizzCon, will not be held in 2024. Instead, Blizzard is looking to move to smaller events throughout the year. Blizzard did not rule out a BlizzCon return in the future.
The 2024 cancellation of BlizzCon follows a pattern the gaming industry has been dealing with over the last five years, with larger community-based events being canceled, mainly due to surging layoffs. In a press release, Blizzard stated, “this decision was not made lightly as BlizzCon remains a very special event for all of us, and we know many of you look forward to it. 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.” 2024 isn’t the first time BlizzCon has been canceled. It was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and again in 2022 due to workplace lawsuits.
The news of the cancellation follows one of Blizzard’s most successful and impactful BlizzCons in recent history in 2023 with the announcement of The World Saga for their highly successful MMORPG, World of Warcraft. The World Saga included not only the announcement of the next expansion, but the next three expansions. Not only will 2024 bring the launch of part one of The World Saga, but 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the World of Warcraft franchise.
Last year, Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft in a landmark $68.7 billion deal that was riddled with legal battles all over the world. Despite rumors, Blizzard did confirm the decision to cancel BlizzCon was that of the Blizzard staff and not from Microsoft.
Image from: Blizzard
