If you had a time machine and went back about ten years to tell people at the height of the World of Warcraft craze that BlizzCon was being cancelled with no definitive timetable hinting at its return, people would probably look at you like you’d been drinking too much Badlands Bourbon. However here in the current day, Blizzard is cancelling BlizzCon 2024, leaving only a tease that it will return at some point in the upcoming years.
The once-colossal convention has definitely diminished over recent years. Following a cancellation in 2020, it returned in 2021 as an online-only event with the reveal of Diablo II: Resurrected and World of Warcraft Classic’s Burning Crusade expansion. Then again in 2022 it disappeared before coming back as a full real-life convention in 2023 where the MMORPG‘s Worldsoul Saga was announced. Now, it’s been cancelled again, with no clear indication of when exactly it will make a return.
“After careful consideration over the last year, we at Blizzard have made the decision not to hold BlizzCon in 2024. 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,” Blizzard says, in a statement posted on the BlizzCon website. “While we’re approaching this year differently and as we have explored different event formats in the past, rest assured that we are just as excited as ever to bring BlizzCon back in future years.”
While BlizzCon 2024 will not be happening, Blizzard is pointing at several other live conventions that the developer will be attending. These include Overwatch esports events at Dreamhack Dallas and Dreamhack Stockholm and a special series of celebrations to commemorate 30 years of Warcraft, with a tease that Blizzard may also be present at Gamescom.
With the timeslot for this year’s BlizzCon falling in an awkward period, around the most likely launch window for World of Warcraft: The War Within and with little else to highlight other than an upcoming Diablo 4 expansion, it’s understandable that Blizzard may wish to direct its energies elsewhere this year. That said, with only a vague promise that BlizzCon will return at some point in the future, we have to wonder if 2023 was the last time we’ll be seeing the convention for a while.
You can head over to the BlizzCon site to read the full statement. If you’d like to check out when you can dive into the next big expansion, our guide to the WoW The War Within release date will make sure you’re ready for what’s coming. You can also take a look at our WoW The War Within Alpha Preview to find out what we thought with our hands-on with the game.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.