The BlizzCon festival is a vital event of the year for Blizzard Entertainment and one of the main events of the global video game industry. This year, it will not be held. The organizers decided to completely cancel the event because of concerns related to the spread of coronavirus, which has already affected many mass events, including E3, GDC, and Gamescom.
An update on BlizzCon: https://t.co/wgMYpIfGS5
— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) May 26, 2020
The news was not a surprise since Blizzard itself had previously warned about a high probability of a complete cancellation of the festival. Even though earlier Blizzard Entertainment hoped that eventually they would be able to hold a festival, they decided to come to terms with harsh reality. The company admitted that it is impossible to hold BlizzCon in current conditions and provide visitors with complete security.
Frank Stich
"We're feeling deeply disappointed about this decision, and imagine many of you will feel the same. I truly love BlizzCon, and I know that's a sentiment shared by everyone at Blizzard. We will sorely miss connecting with so many of you at the convention and "recharging our geek batteries" this fall. But we will meet again!" announced Whirlwind Barbarian, Executive Producer of BlizzCon.
Blizzard is now discussing the possibility of holding the festival in an online format. The first BlizzCon in a completely new online format can already take place in early 2021.
In recent years, BlizzCon took place in early November in Anaheim, California. Last year at BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard announced Overwatch 2, the eighth expansion called Shadowlands for World of Warcraft, which should be released this summer, and the long-awaited role-playing action Diablo IV, the first full-fledged sequel to the famous series from 2012.
