Sad news for Blizzard fans: BlizzCon canceled. This decision comes a year after BlizzCon 2023 and after Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard.
So why did Blizzard make this decision? While there is no definitive explanation, several factors could have caused the cancelation.
Here’s everything we know and guess why it was canceled…
BlizzCon canceled: Possible reasons
The following factors may have played a role in Blizzard’s decision:
- Costs: BlizzCon is quite expensive to organize. Blizzard likely felt it would be difficult to cover the cost of this year’s event.
- Layoffs: Blizzard has been rocked by layoffs recently, which may have led the company to allocate resources to more important projects.
- Microsoft acquisition: Following the Microsoft acquisition, Blizzard will likely restructure and create a new management structure. In the process, they may not have wanted to focus on a big event like BlizzCon.
- Alternative events: Instead of BlizzCon, Blizzard plans to hold smaller events this year and multiple events around the world to celebrate the 30th anniversary of World of Warcraft. This could indicate that the company wants to connect with fans in a more direct and intimate way.
You can find the company’s official statement here.
In my opinion, BlizzCon’s cancelation comes after the failure of the Warcraft Rumble, which the company last held on November 3, 2023. The company is already focused on World of Warcraft and Diablo IV in general, so I don’t think they had much to promote outside of that.
Initially, they had good momentum with Diablo IV, but most players saw it as a failure. If you ask me, Diablo 4 is not Path of Exile. As an RPG and MMORPG player, I can’t wait for Path of Exile 2 to come out, but I still really like the gameplay of Diablo IV with the Xbox controller.
Meanwhile, the players did not receive the latest Overwatch update. This might have canceled the event because it could have seen a huge reaction from the participants.
Back to the topic at hand, even though BlizzCon has been canceled, Blizzard says the event will return in the future. The company recognizes that BlizzCon is important to fans and is eager to return it.
But what will BlizzCon’s return look like? The answer to that question is not yet clear. It’s possible that under Microsoft’s watch, BlizzCon could take on a different format and perhaps become a digital event.
What will replace BlizzCon?
Instead of BlizzCon, Blizzard has stated that it will organize smaller events this year and participate in other major trade shows such as Gamescom.
It also plans to make several announcements, including World of Warcraft’s 10th expansion, The War Within, and Diablo IV’s first DLC, Vessel of Hatred.
Featured image credit: BlizzCon
