Last year was a good year; not only did more people in the game industry still have jobs, but good guy Blizzard decided to reward fans everywhere by bringing back its annual weekend convention, BlizzCon since that pesky little global pandemic derailed it back in 2019.
While many were looking forward to seeing it come back again this year, bigger and better than before, that won’t be the case because, in a move that Blizzard pinky promises had nothing to do with Daddy Microsoft, BlizzCon 2024 has been cancelled.
A statement released by Blizzard reads:
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.
After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024. We’re excited to bring BlizzCon back in future years, and we still have some exciting plans for events in 2024!
Read more: https://t.co/Ub2rdKdCWs
— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) April 25, 2024
Back in its heyday, BlizzCon was one of the most popular conventions. In 2019, the event saw announcements for Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 alongside other convention-exclusive announcements and events.
Then, unfortunately, the rest of 2019 happened, and then in 2023, when the event was finally back on, Phil Spenser, Microsoft and Blizzard’s new daddy, took to the stage in a move that many thought signified that BlizzCon was back for good. But oh how wrong we were.
Instead of hosting its own event, Blizzard says it plans to attend other conventions throughout the year and hold some in-person events to mark the 30th anniversary of its crown jewel: World of Warcraft.
While these events are distinct from BlizzCon, we’re harnessing all of our creativity and imagination to ensure that they carry the same spirit of celebration and togetherness.
Our hope is that these experiences—alongside several live-streamed industry events where we’ll keep you up to date with what’s happening in our game universes—will capture the essence of what makes the Blizzard community so special.
As of writing, Blizzard hasn’t yet given insight as to why BlizzCon 2024 has been cancelled, but news of the convention’s cancellation comes just one week after World of Warcraft executive producer and vice president Holly Longdale said Microsoft’s approach to the company so far is to “let Blizzard be Blizzard.”
But after the post-acquisition decision to cancel Blizzard’s far-along yet unnamed survival game and Microsoft’s layoff of over 1,900 employees, it’s hard to believe that this decision was Blizzard’s and Blizzard’s alone—no matter how many pinkies they promise with.