BlizzCon 2020 has been cancelled, with discussions for an online event next year instead

BlizzCon 2020 has been cancelled, with discussions for an online event next year instead

By Heidi Nicholas, 27 May 2020
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BlizzCon 2020 has been cancelled, with the organisers now looking into some sort of online event for early next year to "channel the BlizzCon spirit".

"Ultimately, after considering our options, we've come to the very difficult decision not to have BlizzCon this year", says Saralyn Smith, Executive Producer of BlizzCon, adding, "but we will meet again". An online event is tentatively planned for early next year, since this is "new-ish territory" with "different factors" to consider than the regular event. This change will also affect esports events: "BlizzCon is also a stage for big esports events in Blizzard games each year", Smith says, "so we're also looking into alternatives for supporting some of the high-level competition that would normally take place at the show".

The BlizzCon organisers consulted national and local health guidelines and tried to imagine how these might look in the coming months, before deciding to cancel BlizzCon 2020. "We're feeling deeply disappointed about this decision", Smith says, but adds that an online event will be "far less impacted by the state of health and safety protocols for mass in-person gatherings".

Plans for this online event seem to be in the very early stages still, so it'll likely be some time before we hear any details on it. We'll update you when we hear more.

Thanks to RDS for the news tip.

Industry News

Written by Heidi Nicholas
Hey, I'm Heidi! I've just finished studying a Masters in English Literature, but I've been obsessed with gaming since long before then. I began on the PS2 with Spyro, before graduating to the Xbox 360 and disappearing into Skyrim. I'm now a loyal RPG fan, but I still like to explore other genres — when I'm not playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey, or being lured back into Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Witcher 3!