BlizzCon 2021: Why Blizzard decided to cancel its gaming convention again

Blizzard Entertainment gave its avid fans a heads up and announced that BlizzCon is not happening. This marks the second consecutive year of the gaming convention getting canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BlizzCon executive producer Saralyn Smith addressed fans in a blog post on Thursday to announce the two-day event’s cancellation. Smith explained that preparing for a convention as massive as BlizzCon requires “many months of preparation.” Describing BlizzCon as an “epic and complex affair,” Smith said they would have to coordinate with local and global partners, esports players, artists, entertainers, and hosts to make the event happen.

Unfortunately, the world is still in a pandemic and COVID-19 seems to still be far from being eradicated or under control. “The ongoing complexities and uncertainties of the pandemic have impacted our ability to properly move forward on many of these fronts,” Smith said. She also cited the evolving guidelines for gatherings with in-person attendance in California.

Blizzard’s annual two-day event is comparable to other major gaming and pop culture conventions in terms of attendance and the array of announcements the developer have every year. The latter is not surprising considering Blizzard’s IPs include some of the most popular and long-running franchises, such as “World of Warcraft,” “Overwatch,” “Diablo,” and “StarCraft.”

The state of California announced that it would relax some restrictions for businesses and activities starting June 15. However, attendees of “large-scale indoor events” will be required to be vaccinated or present negative test results “through at least October 1.” BlizzCon has been annually held at the Anaheim Convention Center. In 2018, it reportedly gathered around 40,000 attendees.

Blizzard did not make any promise on when the full-scale BlizzCon will return, and it was probably the most appropriate approach on the matter. But the video game company confirmed that it is planning an event slated in early 2022 that would feature online presentations similar to BlizzConline last February.

Blizzard will combine the virtual announcements with “smaller in-person gatherings,” suggesting there could be satellite mini conventions in different locations. “Until then, we’ll see you in Azeroth, Outland, Sanctuary, and all the other worlds we call home,” Smith told fans.