The fan gathering BlizzCon, which was scheduled to take place in Anaheim, California in November, has been canceled by Blizzard Entertainment. The organization, which is currently a part of Microsoft, declared on Thursday that the event would not be held, but it pledged to return in subsequent years.
BlizzCon 2024 Cancelled: Blizzard’s Plans for Game Reveals and Community Engagement
It was uploaded on Blizzard’s website;
“After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024. 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.”
Rather, Blizzard anticipates revealing information about its upcoming lineup of games later this year, both independently and at other industry trade shows like Gamescom, which is set to take place in Cologne, Germany from August 21 to August 24. These games include World of Warcraft: The War Within and the Vessel of Hatred expansion for Diablo 4. While World of Warcraft tournaments will be held in person to commemorate the game’s 30th anniversary, Blizzard said that Overwatch 2 esports are still planned for Dreamhack Dallas and Dreamhack Stockholm. Blizzard stated,
“Even though these events are different from BlizzCon, we’re using all of our imagination and creativity to make sure that they carry the same spirit of celebration and togetherness.”
BlizzCon 2024: Navigating Uncertainty and Expectations
After being postponed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, BlizzCon was supposed to take place in person for the second year in a row this year. After becoming digital in 2021, the program was terminated once more in 2022. Additionally, BlizzCon 2024 would have been the first gathering following the official completion of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It took twenty-one months to close that agreement. A few months later, Activision Blizzard suffered significant layoffs when Microsoft slashed 1,900 employees across its gaming operations.
Usually, Blizzard has their massive, barn-burner event, BlizzCon, whereby the company unveils its most anticipated games and upgrades. The World of Warcraft and Diablo 4 expansions stated earlier this year are Blizzard’s only releases this year; nonetheless, the developer’s nameless survival game was canceled along with the layoffs. The survival game, which is the studio’s first new property since Overwatch in 2016, was billed as a vast realm of possibility, waiting to be explored when it was initially unveiled in 2022. Bloomberg claims that the game was in development for six years before its cancellation. Hero Missions, the intended story mode for Overwatch 2, was similarly shelved last year, and its Story Missions are purportedly in danger as well. That could not leave much for a show’s main attraction.
On the other hand, BlizzCon is a developer-focused fan event and should be less likely to be canceled. Regardless of the justification, devotees who attend the conference to visit friends and influential people may find the decision unsatisfactory.
