In a move that probably doesn’t surprise anyone, Blizzard announced today that BlizzCon 2020 is canceled. There’s a possibility of an online event taking its place, but it’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
The news comes from a post by BlizzCon Executive Producer Saralyn Smith, which PCGamer first spotted earlier today.
Smith said:
…we’ve had many discussions about what holding a convention could look like in light of all the health and safety considerations we’d want to make.
We’ve also talked about different paths we could take, and how each one could be complicated by fluctuations in national and local health guidelines in the months ahead. Ultimately, after considering our options, we’ve come to the very difficult decision to not have BlizzCon this year.
News of BlizzCon’s cancellation is just one part of what’s basically been the year of cancellations and delays, from E3 2020 and GDC 2020 being canceled to Minecraft Festival 2020’s delay.
But just like Summer Game Fest was born from E3’s cancellation, Blizzard is looking into alternative ways to host a convention. Smith mentioned:
We’re talking about how we might be able to channel the BlizzCon spirit and connect with you in some way online…
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.
It might not be a proper replacement for this year’s convention, but at least it’s something. You can check out the original story on PC Gamer and Smith’s full post on Blizzard’s website. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more video game event news as it develops.
