In a short statement, Blizzard Entertainment officially announced that they had to cancel BlizzConline 2022, which was supposed to take place early next year. The reason is rather simple: the recent events in connection with the current legal proceedings, but also the Covid-19 pandemic which did not help in any way.
Still, the company seems hopeful and wants to reimagine the event as quickly as possible. No specific date, however we can probably expect major announcements in the coming months.
As for the announcements that should have been unveiled during BlizzConline 2022, do not panic: they will take place, only the event that is BlizzCon is canceled. So we can probably expect some widely hoped for announcements, including Patch 9.2 of World of Warcraft or news of Overwatch 2, among others.
Official press release
We’ve decided to take a step back and pause on planning the previously announced BlizzConline event scheduled for early next year. This was a tough decision for all of us to make, but it’s the right one.
Any BlizzCon event takes every single one of us to make happen, an entire-company effort, fueled by our desire to share what we create with the community we care about so much. At this time, we feel the energy it would take to put on a show like this is best directed towards supporting our teams and progressing development of our games and experiences.
Additionally, we would also like to take the time to reimagine what a BlizzCon event of the future could look like. The first BlizzCon was held 16 years ago, and so much has changed in the time since—most notably, the multiple ways in which players and communities can come together and feel like they are a part of something bigger. Whatever the event looks like in the future, we also need to ensure that it feels as safe, welcoming, and inclusive as possible. We’re committed to continual communication with our players, and we see BlizzCon playing a big role in that going forward. We’re excited about what we’ll do with the event when we revisit it in the future.
One more thing we wanted to make clear: even though we aren’t holding BlizzConline in February, we’ll still be making announcements and updates for our games. We’re proud of our teams and the progress they’ve made across our games. We have a lot of exciting upcoming news and releases to share with you. You’ll continue hearing about those through our franchise channels, with the talented people on the BlizzCon team playing a part in supporting these efforts.
We’ll miss seeing you, but don’t worry. We’ll be back together soon.
