Blizzard Entertainment has announced that there will be no physical Blizzcon 2021 this year, largely because the "ongoing complexities and uncertainties of the pandemic" have affected its ability to put together an in-person convention.
As you probably know, Blizzcon is the yearly convention for Blizzard Entertainment and all of its games. Blizzcon 2020 was one of the many canceled in-person events last year; eventually, Blizzard announced that the 2020 in-person show would be replaced with "Blizzconline" in early 2021. The pandemic is certainly easing up, but there are still plenty of challenges ahead for companies and people alike — and that's a big reason why there will not be an in-person Blizzcon 2021.
Why is There No Physical Blizzcon 2021?
The effective cancellation of a physical Blizzcon 2021 comes down to the same thing that's put a halt to many other physical events over the last year — the challenges put forth by the pandemic.
"Building an in-person BlizzCon is an epic and complex affair that takes many months of preparation—not just for us, but also for the many talented production partners, esports pros, hosts, entertainers, artists, and other collaborators we team up with locally and globally to put all of the pieces together," Blizzard said in its statement. "The ongoing complexities and uncertainties of the pandemic have impacted our ability to properly move forward on many of these fronts, and ultimately we’re now past the point where we’d be able to develop the kind of event we’d want to create for you in November."
Putting a convention together is certainly a lot of work — you have to rent out space, hire contractors, secure lodging for your employees, and get all sorts of other things prepared. Negotiating all of these things and getting them set up in time takes a lot of effort; many conventions, for example, will announce the dates for next year's event at the conclusion of this year's event as they've already begun planning things a year in advance.
We very much look forward to celebrating with you all again. Until then, we’ll see you in Azeroth, Outland, Sanctuary, and all the other worlds we call home.
It might be disappointing, but Blizzard made the right move here: convention organizers aren't the only people who have a lot of planning to. I'm sure there were many fans wondering whether or not they should set aside money for a hotel room and a flight for this year's show; with Blizzcon 2021 canceled, that's not something they'll have to worry about any longer.
For now, we can expect to get another edition of Blizzconline sometime in early 2022. Hopefully, the situation in California will be much better by then and we can all meet up for a physical show in late 2022.
Are you disappointed that there will be no physical Blizzcon 2021? Would you have gone to an in-person Blizzcon 2021 if it was an option? Let us know in the comments below!
