BlizzCon 2020 has been cancelled, but a digital replacement event is coming in 2021

The dumpster fire that is 2020 continues on! With just about every convention under the sun shuttering its doors this year lest it creates a petri dish of viral exposure, Blizzard’s annual celebration of their various brands is the latest kid on the block to join the quarantine crew. Held annually in sunny Anaheim and right next door to Disney Land, BlizzCon usually gives the house of mouse attraction a run for its money in terms of being the happiest place on Earth. And one year, the saltiest, when fans were taken aback at the idea of a Diablo mobile game. What, you guys don’t have phones?

Jokes aside, BlizzCon’s cancellation for 2020 was an inevitable truth that no fan wanted to face. “We’ve had many discussions about what holding a convention could look like in light of all the health and safety considerations we’d want to make,” wrote Saralyn Smith, Executive Producer of BlizzCon.

We’ve also talked about different paths we could take, and how each one could be complicated by fluctuations in national and local health guidelines in the months ahead. Ultimately, after considering our options, we’ve come to the very difficult decision to not have BlizzCon this year.

That’s not to say that Blizzard won’t have some virtual content lined up, but in typical Blizzard fashion don’t expect it anytime soon. “We’re talking about how we might be able to channel the BlizzCon spirit and connect with you in some way online, far less impacted by the state of health and safety protocols for mass in-person gatherings,” Smith explained.

We’d want to do this as soon as we could, but given that this is new-ish territory and the different factors involved, it will most likely be sometime early next year. BlizzCon is also a stage for big esports events in Blizzard games each year, so we’re also looking into alternatives for supporting some of the high-level competition that would normally take place at the show.

With BlizzCon’s cancellation, that leaves behind a large gap in the gaming scene, one that fans who are hungry for news on Overwatch 2, Diablo 4 and a number of other Blizzard projects are dying to hear more about. On the plus side, this is brilliant news for anyone who wants to have some cash in their pocket this year, because the Blizzard stalls at BlizzCon are a dangerously attractive pit of consumerism that will change you man.

I once saw a normal guy wander into the line and an hour later he came out of it wearing a Murlok bathrobe and brandishing a high-end replica Frostmourne sword.

The biggest traedy in my mind though, is how we won’t get to see the annual and AMAZING cosplay showcase. And that makes me a sad Pandaren. Or a sad Pandarryn.