There will be no BlizzCon in 2024. But it makes perfect sense that it fails. Because Blizzard is probably just "empty" at the moment.
Yesterday, Blizzard announced that there will be no BlizzCon in 2024. The big trade fair is not only highly valued by the community, but also by the developers, who always proudly present their work and plans there and come into direct contact with fans.
While many may be a little sarcastic in saying that Microsoft and Blizzard have laid off too many people to hold BlizzCon, the truth is probably much simpler:
You just don't have anything to imagine on a large scale.
Because if you look at the release schedule for Blizzard, it looks like this:
- World of Warcraft: The War Within will be released in late summer, probably sometime between August and September, if there are no major postponements.
- Slightly smaller is the "re-release" of Cataclysm Classic and various game modes such as WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria.
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- Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred will be released "late in 2024" – presumably sometime between October and December.
At least that's the two big releases that are still coming up this year.
On top of that, Blizzard is going through quite a restructuring right now. After all, just a few months ago, the big survival game, in which years of development had already been put in, was completely canceled.
The blunt, simple truth may be: You simply don't have any big things to announce.
For a new Hearthstone expansion, the prospect of a major content patch in WoW, a new hero in Overwatch 2, and two new minis in Warcraft Rumble, BlizzCon just won't be worth it.
Otherwise, it all looks like the disaster of previous years, which doesn't produce any big announcements and instead only very negative memes like "Don't you guys have phones?".
This is likely to be disappointing, especially for Warcraft fans. Warcraft is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, World of Warcraft is celebrating its 20th anniversary and its 10th expansion. While there are various events around the world, without BlizzCon, there's still a lot missing.
To be honest, I'd rather BlizzCon wasn't every year. Even in the past, it sometimes seemed as if they had simply tried to put on some kind of show "on cramp". The corresponding reaction was often that the big hits were missing and BlizzCon wasn't really "worth it" at all.
Accordingly, it only makes sense to hold BlizzCon only when there really is at least one big announcement.
Of course, it's a shame when an event that was now expected to be "annual" no longer takes place regularly. But that's a good thing for the sensation-hungry fans and the developers when there's just nothing big to reveal.
After all, BlizzCon will be back. But hold on when there is really something to reveal.