BlizzCon 2020 is cancelled

Blizzard Entertainment’s annual gaming convention, BlizzCon, is the latest event to be cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement comes via a blog post from BlizzCon executive producer Saralyn Smith:

“Ultimately, after considering our options, we’ve come to the very difficult decision to not have BlizzCon this year.

We’re feeling deeply disappointed about this decision, and imagine many of you will feel the same. I truly love BlizzCon, and I know that’s a sentiment shared by everyone at Blizzard. We will sorely miss connecting with so many of you at the convention and “recharging our geek batteries” this fall.”

Smith directly points to the coronavirus crisis as being the root cause of the cancellation, as it was unclear if holding a convention in the current climate would be feasible while prioritising the health of both employees and attendees.

Blizzard are currently looking into an online alternative to the event, mirroring GDC’s move to the all-digital GDC Summer, following the event’s cancellation in March. However, this is likely not to take place until 2021.

“We’re talking about how we might be able to channel the BlizzCon spirit and connect with you in some way online, far less impacted by the state of health and safety protocols for mass in-person gatherings. We’d want to do this as soon as we could, but given that this is new-ish territory and the different factors involved, it will most likely be sometime early next year.

“BlizzCon is also a stage for big esports events in Blizzard games each year, so we’re also looking into alternatives for supporting some of the high-level competition that would normally take place at the show.”