BlizzCon is back, and that’s not all. Blizzard Entertainment confirmed that this year’s BlizzCon will be an in-person event, the first one in four years due to the hiatus forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
BlizzCon 2023 will make a triumphant return to Anaheim, California, on November 3-4, later this year.
This news brought a ton of excitement and anticipation to the gaming community, as this much-loved event is a promising grand celebration for all things Blizzard.
BlizzCon, the annual gaming convention of Blizzard Entertainment, plays host to new games and content updates by one of the gaming industry’s foremost developers. In addition to this, BlizzCon also hosts esports competitions and brings together a global community of gamers.
Previously, Blizzard has used this platform to announce significant developments in some of its most popular franchises like WarCraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. Unfortunately, the recent developments forced Blizzard forced a digital shift on several popular showcases, including BlizzCon. But, this year, gamers can, once again, experience the palpable energy of a live audience.
The thrill of sharing a space with fellow enthusiasts, witness game reveals in real-time, and participating in cosplay contests, will all be part of the BlizzCon experience once again.
Given the shift “back” to hosting live audiences, it’s safe to say that BlizzCon 2023 will follow a different blueprint.
So far, Blizzard’s biggest games are still Overwatch 2 and World of Warcraft, but BlizzCon 2023 will likely have to make way for new faces like Diablo 4, which comes out on June 6, and a handful of games that Blizzard has been working on lately like Project Odyssey.
The return of BlizzCon 2023 as an in-person casts a huge shadow on the future of E3. After its cancellation earlier this year, many expressed doubts that E3 will ever return. Given that several in-person events are lined up for later this year, it’s hard to find a legitimate reason why E3 2023 didn’t push through other than a lack of faith in the product itself.
Only time will tell if this current and healthy mix of in-person and digital events will continue going forward or if we’ll see live events return to prominence.
