Key Takeaways
- Blizzard has canceled BlizzCon 2024, citing no specific reasons, but plans to bring it back in the future.
- Major game announcements expected via alternative trade shows due to the cancellation.
- Unclear if Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard influenced the decision or not, as the company may lack new game announcements.
Video game developer and publisher Blizzard has announced that it won’t be putting on a BlizzCon event for the 2024 calendar year. The news comes via a press release from the company.
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“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,” says Blizzard.
The company goes on to say that it intends to bring back BlizzCon “in future years,” though no specific details are outlined. For this year, at least, we can expect Blizzard to share major game announcements through alternative channels, including other trade shows and conventions like Gamescom.
Blizzard is expected to launch a couple of heavy-hitting titles later this year, including World of Warcraft: The War Within, and Diablo IV‘s first expansion pack known as Vessel of Hatred.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Warcraft series, and the company is teasing its plans to coordinate ‘multiple, global, in-person events to commemorate’ the milestone.
But, why cancel BlizzCon?
It’s unclear why exactly Blizzard has decided not to host its own event this year. It’s possible the company doesn’t feel it has enough new games in the pipeline to warrant an entire convention.
Major headlines were made when Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard late last year for close to $69 billion. It’s unclear if Microsoft has anything to do with the decision to cancel BlizzCon 2024, or if the decision was made internally by Blizzard itself.
Activision Blizzard was already one of the largest game publishers in the world prior to the acquisition, and now with Microsoft at the helm, the company certainly has the resources to put on a conference if it wants to.
That said, in a year filled with industry-wide layoffs within the gaming sphere, including ones that have hit Blizzard itself, the idea of spending money on a convention might not seem as palatable as in previous years.
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