| BlizzCon | |
|---|---|
 Official logo | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Video games |
| Venue | Anaheim Convention Center |
| Location(s) | Anaheim, California |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2005; 20 years ago (2005) |
| Most recent | November 3, 2023; 16 months ago (2023-11-03) |
| Next event | September 12th & 13th 2026 |
| Attendance | ≈40,000 in 2018 |
| Organized by | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Filing status | Corporate |
| Website | blizzcon |
BlizzCon is an annualgaming convention held byBlizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises includingWarcraft,StarCraft,Diablo,Hearthstone,Heroes of the Storm, andOverwatch.
The first BlizzCon was held in October 2005, and since then, all of the conventions have been held at theAnaheim Convention Center inAnaheim, California, near Blizzard's headquarters inIrvine. The convention features game-related announcements, previews of upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games and content, Q&A sessions and panels,costume contests, and playable versions of various Blizzard games. The Closing Ceremony has featured concerts byThe Offspring,Tenacious D,Foo Fighters,Ozzy Osbourne,Blink-182,Metallica,Linkin Park,"Weird Al" Yankovic, andMuse. Blizzard also hosted a similar event outside the U.S. from 2004 to 2008, known as theBlizzard Worldwide Invitational.
General admission tickets are considered to be the baseline experience for BlizzCon. It grants access to attend all panels across both days; play new games, patches, and expansions; and order exclusive Blizzard merchandise online before the convention. Since its inception in 2005, the prices have changed drastically as its scope and attendees have grown.
Each general admission ticket includes agoody bag with items likebeta keys for upcoming Blizzard games, exclusive Blizzard paraphernalia, and in-game prizes. The in-game prizes have ranged from pets, transmog, mounts inWorld of Warcraft &Heroes of the Storm; exclusive card packs forHearthstone; heroes forHeroes of the Storm; cosmetic wings & pets forDiablo III; skins forOverwatch; and portraits, unit skins, and console skins forStarcraft: Remastered andStarcraft II.
Starting with BlizzCon 2009, the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner, sometimes called the VIPs Dinner, was introduced as an additional ticket option. The dinner donates all net proceeds to theChildren's Hospital of Orange County. Guests can meet with game developers, artists, executives, and other Blizzard Entertainment employees.
The tickets included the dinner, signed print of Blizzard artwork, and BlizzCon ticket. In later BlizzCons, reserved seating for the Opening Ceremony and Community Night on the first day of the show were added as additional benefits. These tickets usually had their own sale date separate from the main ticket. The price for these tickets were:
Beginning with BlizzCon 2019, the Portal Pass was added as an additional ticket option for $550; it effectively replaced the Benefit Dinner option for BlizzCon 2023. It is considered an upgrade over the General Admission ticket. This price was increased by $229 to $799 with BlizzCon 2023. It granted additional access to:[7]
BlizzCon is typically held every year. However, it has been cancelled six times in 2006, 2012, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025.
| Year | Dates | Number of attendees (approx.) | Closing Ceremonies | Ticket Price (USD) | Portal Pass Price (USD) | Virtual Ticket Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | October 28–29 | 4,000[15] | The Offspring,Christian Finnegan, L60ETC | 100 | N/A | N/A |
| 2006 | Not held | |||||
| 2007 | August 3–4 | 13,000 | Video Games Live,Jay Mohr, L70ETC | 100 | N/A | N/A |
| 2008 | October 10–11 | 15,000[16] | Video Games Live,Patton Oswalt,Kyle Kinane, L70ETC | 100 | N/A | N/A |
| 2009 | August 21–22 | 20,000[17] | Ozzy Osbourne | 125 | N/A | 39.95 |
| 2010 | October 22–23 | 27,000 | Tenacious D,Dave Grohl | 150 | N/A | 39.99 |
| 2011 | October 21–22 | 26,000 | Foo Fighters, TAFKL80ETC/L90ETC | 175 | N/A | 39.99 |
| 2012 | Not held | |||||
| 2013 | November 8–9 | 26,000 | Blink-182 | 175 | N/A | 39.99 |
| 2014 | November 7–8 | 26,000 | Metallica, L90ETC/Elite Tauren Chieftains | 199 | N/A | 39.99 |
| 2015 | November 6–7 | 25,000 | Linkin Park | 199 | N/A | 39.99 |
| 2016 | November 4–5 | 27,000+ | "Weird Al" Yankovic | 199 | N/A | 39.99 |
| 2017 | November 3–4 | 35,000+ | Muse | 199 | N/A | 39.99 |
| 2018 | November 2–3 | 40,000+[18][19] | Train,Lindsey Stirling,Kristian Nairn | 199 | N/A | 49.99 |
| 2019 | November 1–2 | Fitz and the Tantrums,The Glitch Mob,Haywyre | 229 | 550 | 49.99 | |
| 2020 | Not held | |||||
| 2021 | February 19–20 | Online Only | Kristian Nairn,Metallica,Mamamoo | Free | N/A | 19.99/39.99/59.99 Celebration Collection[20] |
| 2022 | Not held[21] | |||||
| 2023 | November 3–4 | TBA | LE SSERAFIM | 299 | 799 | Free Live Stream (29.99/49.99 BlizzCon Collection Packs) |
| 2024 | Not held[22] | |||||
| 2025 | ||||||
| 2026 | September 12-13[23] | |||||
Attendees were able to try one of the two new playable races, the Blood Elves, for upcoming expansion based in Outland which was released asWorld of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in 2007. Playable demos of the single and multiplayer modes of the since canceledStarcraft: Ghost were available. A songwriting competition was judged byJonathan Davis ofKorn.
Level 60 Elite Tauren Chieftain, comedianChristian Finnegan, andThe Offspring performed at the closing concert.[24]
A pre-release version ofStarCraft II was available for play (the game would be released asStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty only in 2010), as single player or 2v2 as Terran or Protoss.[25][26] Much of the game, excluding theZerg race, was revealed and explained as well as Q&A with attendees.[27] The second expansion toWorld of Warcraft, titledWrath of the Lich King, was officially announced and available to play.[28]
ComedianJay Mohr entertained at the closing ceremony followed by Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain (who changed their name to reflect the new level cap inThe Burning Crusade) alongsideVideo Games Live performing at the closing concert.[29]
In the opening ceremonies, Blizzard presidentMichael Morhaime revealed the third playable class forDiablo III, the Wizard, as well as the major announcement thatStarcraft II would be separated into three games.
Playable versions ofDiablo III,StarCraft II, andWorld of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King were available to test during the convention. There were also tournaments and competitions for theWorld of Warcrafttrading card game,World of Warcraft miniatures game,StarCraft,StarCraft II,Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, andWorld of Warcraft arena. For the first time, the Zerg race was playable in theStarCraft II demos.
BlizzCon 2008 was broadcast live on both days as apay-per-view event onDirecTV for US viewers only, offering eight hours of content per day inhigh definition.[30] Blizzardfansite WoW Radio broadcast live audio viaSHOUTcast.[31]
For the closing ceremonies on Saturday, comedians Kyle Kinane andPatton Oswalt performed. The closing concert was performed by Video Games Live, playing arrangements from all of the Blizzard games, including music fromWrath of the Lich King.
To reduce frustrations over low ticket availability for previous BlizzCons, the convention added a fourth hall and a new system for ticket purchasing that used an online queue.[32]DirecTV again carried both days of BlizzCon 2009 as a pay-per-view event ($39.95 for both days) for eight hours per day in both standard and high definition; purchasers also received an exclusive "Grunty the Murloc Marine"World of Warcraft in-game pet.[33] New in 2019, BlizzCon was broadcast live via aninternet stream with access offered as a "Virtual Ticket" and included for pay-per-view customers. The site covered both days of the convention featuring exclusive interviews and commentary, main stage presentations including the opening ceremony, and tournament coverage with team highlights.[34]
The third expansion,World of Warcraft: Cataclysm was announced.Diablo III,StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty were available to play.Ozzy Osbourne performed for the closing concert.[35]
The fifth playableDiablo III class was revealed to be the Demon Hunter and theStarCraft II modification called "Blizzard DotA" was presented, which later evolved intoHeroes of the Storm.Diablo III,StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty andWorld of Warcraft: Cataclysm were playable.
Similar to 2009, BlizzCon 2010 was available live via an online broadcast on the "BlizzCon Virtual Ticket". The Virtual Ticket provided four live feeds from the convention floor, offering 50+ hours of BlizzCon programming. DirecTV again offered both days of BlizzCon 2010 as a pay-per-view event (US$39.95 for both days) for ten hours per day in both standard and high definition.
Korean player MVP_Genius won the StarCraft II BlizzCon Invitational.[citation needed] The vinyl recordRevolution Overdrive: Songs of Liberty was released for the event. The comedy rock duoTenacious D played the closing concert withDave Grohl.[36] Recordings of the event were released for free as part of theLive Music Archive.[37]
The opening ceremony showcased a newDiablo III cinematic trailer titled "The Black Soulstone," aStarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm reveal trailer showed new units and abilities, a "Blizzard DOTA" trailer for a new game made fromStarCraft II, and the reveal ofWorld of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, a new expansion forWorld of Warcraft.Diablo III,StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, andWorld of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria were playable. DirecTV once again offered both days of BlizzCon 2011 as a pay-per-view event.
TheGOMTV Global Starcraft II League October final match took place in Anaheim alongside BlizzCon.[38] Moon "MMA" Sung Won beat Jeong "Mvp" Jong Hyeon, 4–1. The closing concert featured a performance from Blizzard's in-house band, The Artist Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftains (TAFKL80ETC), who changed their name mid-concert to Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftains (L90ETC). TheFoo Fightersheadlined the closing concert.[39]
BlizzCon 2013 was held on November 8 and 9 in Anaheim.[40] The tickets were sold in two batches across April 24 and 27, 2013, and both batches quickly sold out.[41] Blizzard also sold special tickets that included access to a Benefit Dinner. Blizzard once again sold a Virtual Ticket for live streaming of all BlizzCon 2013 events.[42]
TheHeroes of the Storm "Cinematic Trailer" was presented with an alpha version of the game available for play.Hearthstone was announced for release toiOS andAndroid withpublic beta testing. The fifth expansion toWorld of Warcraft,Warlords of Draenor, was officially announced with a trailer. TheWarcraft film concept art was shown.Diablo III: Reaper of Souls was announced to be released on PC,Xbox One, andPS4.
The gaming events included the finals of the 2013StarCraft IIWorld Championship Series[43] as well as the Hearthstone Innkeeper's Invitational, aHearthstone tournament featuring prominentTwitch streamers.[44] The StarCraft II competition was won byKim "sOs" Yoo-jin,World of Warcraft arena was won by the team Skill-Capped, andHearthstone was won byDan "Artosis" Stemkoski. The closing concert was performed byBlink-182.[45]
The tickets were sold in two baches across May 7 and 10, 2014, usingEventbrite instead of the Blizzard Store.[4] Blizzard once again sold a Virtual Ticket for live online streaming of all of the events.
Overwatch, a new class-based multi-playershooter, was announced on November 7, 2014.[46] The third part ofStarcraft II,Legacy of the Void was announced. The first expansion pack forHearthstone,Goblins vs. Gnomes, was announced on the same day.[47]
The first Hearthstone World Championship was hosted at the event, won by James "Firebat" Kostesich. The 2014StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals was won byLee "Life" Seung Hyun, who beat Mun "MMA" Seong Won. TheWorld of Warcraft championship was won by team Bleached Bones. The first officialHeroes of the Storm tournament was held at the event and won by teamCloud9. The closing ceremony concert was opened by Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftains (changed their name during the show to Elite Tauren Chieftains) and closed byMetallica.[48]
The tickets went on sale on April 15 and 18 using Eventbrite and sold out near instantly. Blizzard once again sold a Virtual Ticket for live streaming of all BlizzCon events. The convention's online broadcast was watched by over 10 million people.
Hearthstone's third adventure,League of Explorers, was announced on November 6, 2015 and released on November 12.[49] Overwatch was announced to have a Q2 2016 release date, later confirmed for May 24. The expansionWorld of Warcraft: Legion released its cinematic trailer confirming a release by September 21, 2016. TheWarcraft film had its first official trailer announcing a June 10, 2016, release date.StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops was announced as a set of threesingle-player mission packs.
The2015 Heroes of the Storm World Championship and the second Hearthstone World Championship were hosted at the event.Hearthstone was won by Sebastian "Ostkaka" Engwall andHeroes of the Storm was won by team Cloud 9 again. The 2015StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals was won byKim "sOs" Yoo-jin beating reining winner Lee "Life" Seung Hyun, making him the first two-time StarCraft II world champion. TheWorld of Warcraft arena team championship was won by SK Gaming. The closing concert was performed byLinkin Park.[50]
BlizzCon 2016, also known as BlizzCon X, was the tenth BlizzCon event. Its tickets were sold on April 20 and 23 using the ticketing service Universe. This year's Virtual Ticket included live streams of the conventions esports events and major panels, along with access to purchase the goody bag of promotional merchandise previously reserved for in-person attendees. While retaining its $39.99 price, the Virtual Ticket no longer included panels and interviews in smaller rooms. In September 2016, Blizzard Entertainment released a sneak peek at the BlizzCon 2016 in-game item rewards.[51]
The gaming announcements included the fourth expansion forHearthstone, titledMean Streets of Gadgetzan, which released in December 2016.Overwatch announcedSombra as a new playable character after teasing her via analternate reality game and theOverwatch League for esports.Diablo III announced an annual The Darkening of Tristram event, inDiablo I would be replayable through the game each January. Additionally, the necromancer class would be added toDiablo III in aDLC pack called Rise of the Necromancer.[52]
The gaming events at BlizzCon 2016 included theStarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals (won by Byun "ByuN" Hyun Woo), theWorld of Warcraft arena championship, theHearthstone third world championship, theHeroes of the Storm fall championship, and theOverwatch World Cup.[52]Kristian Nairn was thedisc jockey during Blizzard's 25th anniversary party.[53] The closing ceremony concert was performed by"Weird Al" Yankovic.[54]
On March 14, Blizzard Entertainment announced that BlizzCon 2017 would be held on November 3 and 4, with tickets available for purchase on April 5 and 8 using the ticketing service Universe. A third round of tickets were sold on July 5 due to the convention center adding a new hall.[55] On September 13, 2017, Virtual Tickets were opened for sale; this ticket included a faction-specific flying mount in World of Warcraft, and other special items in the various Blizzard games.[56][57] BlizzCon 2017 had more than 35,000 attendees, made possible by a recent expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center.[58]
The gaming announcements included the next expansion toWorld of Warcraft,Battle for Azeroth, opening of officialWorld of Warcraft Classic servers, a new hero (Moira) and map (Blizzard World) forOverwatch, free re-releases ofStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty's first campaign, multiplayer other modes of the game,[59] and the December 2017 release of the nextHearthstone expansion,Kobolds and Catacombs.[60]
The esports events at BlizzCon 2017 included theStarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals won by Lee "Rogue" Byung Ryul, theWorld of Warcraft arena championship won by ABC, theHearthstone Innkeeper's Invitational won by the Grimestreet Grifters, theHeroes of the Storm HGC Finals won by MVP Black, theOverwatch World Cup won by South Korea for the second time, andStarCraft: Remastered Ultimate Title Fight won by Bisu.[61] The closing concert was performed byMuse.[62]
Blizzard Entertainment announced that BlizzCon 2018 would be held on November 2 and 3 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with tickets again sold using Universe on May 9 and 12.[63] A third round of tickets went on sale on August 18.[64]
The announcements on the first day includedWarcraft III: Reforged, a remaster ofWarcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion,The Frozen Throne;[65] a new Western-themed hero forOverwatch namedAshe;[66] the first original character forHeroes of the Storm, Orphea, who was gifted to attendees and Virtual Ticket holders;[67] theRastakhan's Rumble expansion forHearthstone;[68] a playable demo forWorld of Warcraft Classic;[69] andDiablo: Immortal, anaction role-playing game for mobile devices.[70] The announcement ofDiablo: Immortal was poorly received, resulting in a high number ofdislikes on the YouTube gameplay and cinematic trailers, and considerable criticism from gaming journalists and streamers.[71]
The esports events at BlizzCon 2018 included the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals won byJoona "Serral" Sotala,[72] the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship won by Method Orange,[73] the World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon Invitational All-Stars won by Free Marsy, the Hearthstone Global Games won by the China team,[74] the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship won byGen.G,[75] and theOverwatch World Cup won by South Korea for a third consecutive time.[76] Closing festivities included simultaneous concerts byTrain,Kristian Nairn, andLindsey Stirling.[77]
Blizzard Entertainment announced that BlizzCon 2019 would be held on November 1 and 2 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with tickets sold using AXS.com on May 4 and 8.[7] In lieu of the traditional "goodie bag," convention attendees chose between an orc grunt or human footman statue to commemorate 25 years of Warcraft.[78]
Announcements for upcoming releases includedDiablo IV,Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft's eighth expansion,Shadowlands, and the Hearthstone expansionDescent of Dragons. Additionally, Hearthstone would be receiving a new game mode called Battlegrounds in December 2019.[79]
The esports events at BlizzCon 2019 included theOverwatch World Cup that was won by the United States,[80] StarCraft II WCS Global Finals won by Park "Dark" Ryung Woo,[81] World of Warcraft Arena World Championship won by Method Black, World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon International won by Method EU,[82] and Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals won by VKLiooon, the first female to win Grandmasters in that game.[83] Closing festivities included simultaneous concerts byThe Glitch Mob,Haywyre, andFitz and the Tantrums (the last concert was viewable for attendees only).[84]
In April 2020, Blizzard announced[85] that they were still working on plans for the next BlizzCon, noting that it may occur in some other form or be cancelled entirely due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Blizzard confirmed they will not hold the physical event, but was considering some online replacement which would not likely occur until early 2021.[86]
On September 21, 2020, Blizzard announced that thevirtual event BlizzConline would be held from February 19–20, 2021.[87] It featured the unveiling ofDiablo II: Resurrected and the remastered version ofThe Burning Crusade expansion forWorld of Warcraft Classic, as well as further details onOverwatch 2 andDiablo Immortal.[88]
In May 2021, Blizzard announced that the in-person BlizzCon event was again cancelled due to COVID-19, as the "ongoing complexities and uncertainties of the pandemic" made it impossible to organize an event at the required scale for its traditional November scheduling. Blizzard stated that there were plans for a "global event" with online components and "smaller in-person gatherings" to be held in early 2022.[89]
On October 26, 2021, amid, but without mentioning,ongoing litigation against the company over its workplace culture and treatment of female employees, Blizzard announced that the previously announced "global event" had been "paused", and that it would "take the time to reimagine what a BlizzCon event of the future could look like."[90]
In May 2023, Blizzard announced that BlizzCon will be held on November 3 and 4 at the Anaheim Convention Center.[91] On June 29, 2023, Blizzard announced several new changes to BlizzCon but did confirm that tickets would be sold once more thru AXS.com in two waves across July 8 and 22. Attendees were restricted to purchasing two tickets per transaction, down from four tickets per transaction in 2019. For the first time in the event's history, tickets for BlizzCon failed to sell out.[92]
Additionally, Blizzard included aMature warning for BlizzCon content that would not permit children under the age of 7 and required an adult for those aged 7-17 to enter. Blizzard further announced that BlizzCon 2023 would be live streamed for free. However, the Virtual Ticket was still sold by offering in-game items for various Blizzard games. Seating for the opening ceremony was assigned with alottery due to the smaller capacity of the BlizzCon Arena. In addition, all panels and Community Night events were held BlizzCon Arena using first-come, first-served seating. Events in the BlizzCon Arena were simulcast to screens across BlizzCon.[93] Hall E of the Anaheim Convention Center was not used; the BlizzCon Store, merchandise pick-up, and costume contest typically held there was moved to the bottom half of the North Hall.[94]
Blizzard WorldWide Invitationals were events similar to BlizzCon held outside the United States.
| Edition | Dates | Location | Price | Game announce | Beta key | Playable games | Web sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 15 to 18, 2004 | Seoul, South Korea, COEX Convention Center | Free | None | ? | ? | ? |
| 2 | February 3 to 5, 2006 | Seoul, South Korea, COEX Convention Center | ? | None | ? | ? | WWI 2006 |
| 3 | May 19 and 20, 2007 | Seoul, South Korea | Free[95] | StarCraft II | None | None | WWI 2007 |
| 4 | June 28 and 29, 2008 | Paris, France, Porte de Versailles | 70 euros | Diablo III | WoW Wrath Lich King | StarCraft II, WoW Wrath Lich King | WWI 2008Archived April 25, 2009, at theWayback Machine |
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