Wikipedia

BlizzCon

(Redirected from BlizzCon 2016)

BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch.

BlizzCon
Official logo
StatusActive
GenreVideo games
VenueAnaheim Convention Center
Location(s)Anaheim, California
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2005; 19 years ago (2005)
Most recentNovember 3, 2023; 12 months ago (2023-11-03)
Next eventTBA
Attendance≈40,000 in 2018
Organized byBlizzard Entertainment
Filing statusCorporate
Websiteblizzcon.com

The first BlizzCon was held in October 2005, and since then, all of the conventions have been held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, in the same metropolitan area as Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine. 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 by The Offspring, Tenacious D, Foo Fighters, Ozzy Osbourne, Blink-182, Metallica, Linkin Park, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Muse. Blizzard also hosted a similar event outside the U.S. from 2004 to 2008, the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational.

Tickets and pricing

edit

General admission (since 2005)

edit

General admission tickets are considered to be the baseline experience for BlizzCon. It grants access to all of the panels on both days, ability to playtest new games, patches, expansions, etc. and ability to view as well as order exclusive Blizzard merchandise online before the convention. Since its inception in 2005, the prices have changed drastically as its scope and number attendees have grown with it.

  • For BlizzCon 2005, tickets were set at $120 USD.[1]
  • For BlizzCon 2007 & 2008, the price was decreased by $20 to $100 USD.
  • For BlizzCon 2009, the price was increased by $25 to $125.
  • For BlizzCon 2010, the price was increased by another $25 to $150.
  • For BlizzCon 2011 & 2013, the price was increased by another $25 to $175. [2][3]
  • For BlizzCon 2014,[4] 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018,[5] the price was increased by another $24 to $199.
  • For BlizzCon 2019, the price was increased by $30 to $229.
  • For BlizzCon 2023, the price was increased by $70 to $299.


Each general admission ticket includes a goody bag that has contained items such as beta keys for upcoming Blizzard games, exclusive Blizzard paraphernalia and in-game prizes. The in-game prizes have ranged from pets, transmog & mounts in World of Warcraft & Heroes of the Storm, exclusive card backs for Hearthstone, heroes for Heroes of the Storm, cosmetic wings & pets for Diablo III, skins for Overwatch, and portraits, unit skins & console skins for Starcraft: Remastered & Starcraft II.

Benefit Dinner (2009–2019)

edit

Starting with BlizzCon 2009, the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner, sometimes called the VIPs Dinner, was introduced as an additional ticket option. The dinner benefits the Children's Hospital Orange County (CHOC) Children's Foundation with all net proceeds going to them. Guests can meet and chat with game developers, artists, executives and other folks from Blizzard Entertainment.

The tickets included the dinner, a signed print of Blizzard artwork and a 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:

  • $500 for BlizzCon 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2013[6]
  • $750 for BlizzCon 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019. This was an increase of $250 from BlizzCon 2013.

The Benefit Dinner was neither offered nor returned as part of BlizzCon 2023.

Portal Pass (since 2019)

edit

Beginning with BlizzCon 2019, the Portal Pass was added as an additional ticket option; effectively replacing the Benefit Dinner option with BlizzCon 2023. It is considered an upgrade over the General Admission ticket as it added several additional benefits. It cost $550 for BlizzCon 2019. This price was increased by $229 to $799 with BlizzCon 2023. It granted additional access to:[7]

  • "Night at the Faire" event in the Darkmoon Faire area the night before BlizzCon starts (BlizzCon 2019 Only)
  • Access to the convention halls before general admission (BlizzCon 2019 Only)
  • Private viewing lounge with video feeds of the panels
  • A rotating set of Blizzard employees and special guests
  • Early convention entry on both days to the Portal Pass Lounge Only
  • Preferred/Separate lines for registration and security
  • Preferred parking area
  • Private Concessions (Introduced with BlizzCon 2023)
  • Gameplay Experiences (Introduced with BlizzCon 2023)
  • Concierge Support (Introduced with BlizzCon 2023)

Event cancellations

edit

BlizzCon is typically held every year. However, it has been cancelled five times in 2006, 2012, 2020, 2022 and 2024.

  • The first cancellation came in 2006 with no reason given at the time.
  • It was cancelled for a second time in 2012. The cause was, according to Community Manager Bashiok, is that Blizzard was working on "releasing multiple titles that year and so felt they may not have anything big, new or cool to talk about". World of Warcraft's fourth expansion, Mists of Pandaria, and Diablo III both launched in 2012 while StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm launched in March 2013. [8]
  • The event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] A virtual event called BlizzConline was held in February 2021.[10]
  • BlizzCon 2022 was to be held in a modified format with virtual programming and "smaller, in-person gatherings".[11] It was again cancelled in October 2021 in order to prioritize "supporting our teams and progressing development of our games and experiences", and to provide time to "reinvent" the event to be "safe, welcoming, and inclusive as possible". This cancellation came amid an employee discrimination lawsuit against parent company Activision Blizzard in the state of California.[12]
  • BlizzCon 2024 was cancelled in April 2024, with no reason given.[13]

BlizzCon events

edit
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[14] 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[15] Video Games Live, Patton Oswalt, Kyle Kinane, L70ETC 100 N/A N/A
2009 August 21–22 20,000[16] 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+[17][18] 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[19]
2022 Not held[20]
2023 November 3–4 TBA LE SSERAFIM 299 799 Free Live Stream (29.99/49.99 BlizzCon Collection Packs)
2024 Not held[21]

2000s

edit

2005

edit

Attendees were able to try one of the two new playable races, the Blood Elves, for upcoming expansion based in Outland which was released as World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in 2007. Playable demos of the single and multiplayer modes of the since canceled Starcraft: Ghost were available. A songwriting competition was judged by Jonathan Davis of Korn.

Level 60 Elite Tauren Chieftain, comedian Christian Finnegan, and The Offspring performed at the closing concert.[22]

2007

edit
 
The opening ceremony at the 2007 BlizzCon

A pre-release version of StarCraft II was available for play (the game would be released as StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty only in 2010), as single player or 2v2 as Terran or Protoss.[23][24] Much of the game was revealed and explained as well as Q&A with attendees. The Zerg race was, however, not unveiled at that time.[25] The second expansion to World of Warcraft, titled Wrath of the Lich King, was officially announced and it was available to play.[26]

Comedian Jay Mohr entertained at the closing ceremony followed by Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain (who changed their name to reflect the new level cap in The Burning Crusade) alongside Video Games Live performing at the closing concert.[27]

2008

edit
 
Fan in Thorim costume

In the opening ceremonies, Blizzard president Michael Morhaime revealed the third playable class for Diablo III: the Wizard, as well as the major announcement that Starcraft II would be separated into three games.

Playable versions of Diablo III, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King were available to test during the convention. As well, there were tournaments and competitions for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, World of Warcraft miniatures game, StarCraft, StarCraft II, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and World of Warcraft arena. The Zerg race was now playable in the StarCraft II demos.

BlizzCon 2008 was broadcast live on both days as a PPV event on DirecTV for US viewers only, for eight hours per day in high definition.[28] Official Blizzard fansite WoW Radio broadcast live audio via SHOUTcast.[29]

For the closing ceremonies on Saturday, comedians Kyle Kinane and Patton Oswalt performed. The closing concert was performed by Video Games Live, playing arrangements from all of the Blizzard games, and a performance including the Wrath of the Lich King music.

2009

edit
 
Blizzcon 2009 at the Anaheim Convention Center

In an attempt to reduce frustrations linked to lack of ticket availability for previous BlizzCons, there were four halls (increased from three) of space available. Blizzard implemented a new system designed to make buying tickets easier. The new system implemented an online queue, effectively creating an organized online "line" for anyone who wants to purchase tickets, an improvement on 2008's chaotic sale of tickets.[30]

 
Ozzy Osbourne at BlizzCon 2009

As in 2008, DirecTV carried both days of BlizzCon 2009 as a PPV event ($39.95 for both days) for eight hours per day in both standard and high definition. All BlizzCon 2009 Pay Per View event purchasers received an exclusive "Grunty the Murloc Marine" World of Warcraft in-game pet.[31] and had access to the online stream for no additional cost. New in 2009, BlizzCon was broadcast live via an internet stream, calling it a "Virtual Ticket". 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. All purchasers received an exclusive "Grunty the Murloc Marine" World of Warcraft in-game pet.[32]

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.[33]

2010s

edit

2010

edit
 
Resto Druid in Tree Form at Blizzcon 2010

The fifth playable Diablo III class was revealed to be the Demon Hunter and the StarCraft II modification called "Blizzard DotA" was presented, which later evolved into Heroes of the Storm. Diablo III, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm were playable.

 
Tenacious D at Blizzcon 2010

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 HD BlizzCon programming. DirecTV again offered both days of BlizzCon 2010 as a PPV event (US$39.95 for both days) for ten hours per day in both standard and high definition.

Korean pro-gamer MVP_Genius won the StarCraft II BlizzCon Invitational[citation needed] The vinyl record Revolution Overdrive: Songs of Liberty was released for the event.

Tenacious D (Jack Black/Kyle Gass) played for the closing concert with Dave Grohl.[34] Recordings of the event were released for free as part of the Live Music Archive.[35]

2011

edit

The opening ceremony showcased a new Diablo III cinematic trailer titled "The Black Soulstone", a StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm reveal trailer showcasing new units and abilities, a "Blizzard DOTA" trailer for a new game made from StarCraft II and the reveal of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, a new expansion for World of Warcraft. Diablo III, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria were playable. DirecTV once again offered both days of BlizzCon 2011 as a PPV event.

The GOMTV Global Starcraft II League October final match took place in Anaheim alongside BlizzCon.[36] Moon "MMA" Sung Won beat Jeong "Mvp" Jong Hyeon, 4–1.

The closing concert featured a performance from Blizzard's own 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). The Foo Fighters performed for the closing concert.[37]

2013

edit

Blizzcon 2013 was announced to be held on November 8 and 9 in Anaheim.[38] The tickets were sold in two batches, on April 24 and 27, 2013, and both batches quickly sold out.[39] Blizzard also sold special tickets that include access to a pre-Blizzcon Benefit Dinner. Blizzard once again sold a Virtual Ticket for live online streaming of all of the events in BlizzCon 2013.[40]

The Heroes of the Storm "Cinematic Trailer" was presented with an alpha version of the game available for playing. Hearthstone was announced to begin beta testing and that the game would be released on iOS and Android. The fifth expansion to World of Warcraft, Warlords of Draenor, was officially announced and a trailer was shown. The Warcraft film concept art was shown. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls was announced to be released on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

The gaming events included the finals of the 2013 StarCraft II World Championship Series[41] as well as the Hearthstone Innkeeper's Invitational, a Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft tournament featuring a handful of prominent Twitch streamers.[42] The StarCraft II competition was won by Kim "sOs" Yoo-jin, World of Warcraft arena was won by team Skill-Capped and Hearthstone was won by Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski.

The closing concert was performed by Blink-182.[43]

2014

edit
 
Life won the BlizzCon 2014 StarCraft II tournament.

The tickets went on sale May 7 and 10, 2014. For 2014, tickets were sold via Eventbrite 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-player shooter, was announced on November 7, 2014.[44] The third part of Starcraft II, Legacy of the Void was announced. The first expansion pack for Hearthstone, Goblins vs. Gnomes, was also announced on the same day.[45] The first Hearthstone World Championship was hosted at the event.

The 2014 StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals was won by Lee "Life" Seung Hyun beating Mun "MMA" Seong Won. The World of Warcraft championship was won by team Bleached Bones. Hearthstone was won by James "Firebat" Kostesich and first official tournament in Heroes of the Storm was held at the event that was won by team Cloud 9.

The closing ceremony concert was opened by Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftains (changed their name during the show to Elite Tauren Chieftains) and closed by Metallica.[46]

2015

edit
For details about the Heroes of the Storm World Championship, see 2015 Heroes of the Storm World Championship.
 
Fan in Illidan costume

The tickets went on sale on April 15 and 18 using Eventbrite, and were sold out nearly instantly. Blizzard once again sold a Virtual Ticket for live online streaming of all of the events held at BlizzCon. 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, which was later released on November 12.[47] Overwatch was announced to have a Q2 2016 release date, later confirmed for May 24. The expansion World of Warcraft: Legion released its cinematic trailer and announced a release date on or before September 21, 2016 and was playable. The Warcraft (film) released its first official trailer and revealed its release date of June 10, 2016. StarCraft II was announced to have upcoming single player mission packs, Nova Covert Ops, which each consist of three missions.

The 2015 Heroes of the Storm World Championship and the second Hearthstone World Championship were hosted at the event. Hearthstone was won by Sebastian "Ostkaka" Engwall and Heroes of the Storm was won by team Cloud 9 again. The 2015 StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals was won by Kim "sOs" Yoo-jin beating last year's winner Lee "Life" Seung Hyun and becoming the first two-time StarCraft II World Championship Series world champion. The World of Warcraft arena team championship was won by SK Gaming.

The closing concert was performed by Linkin Park.[48]

2016

edit

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. Blizzard offered a Virtual Ticket for live online streaming of all of the esports events and major panels, remaining at the $39.99 price. Other panels and interviews in smaller rooms were not included for streaming.

In September 2016, Blizzard Entertainment released a sneak peek at the BlizzCon 2016 in-game item rewards and offered for the first time the "goody bag", normally only for physical attendees, was offered for sale to virtual ticket holders.[49]

The gaming announcements included the fourth expansion for Hearthstone, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, expected to be released in December 2016. Overwatch had two big announcements: it confirmed the hero Sombra after teasing her via an ARG and the creation of an official esports league for Overwatch. Diablo III also had two big announcements: it would be getting a remake of Diablo called The Darkening of Tristram which would reoccur every January and the necromancer class would be added in a DLC pack called Rise of the Necromancer.[50]

The gaming events at BlizzCon 2016 included the 2016 StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals won by Byun "ByuN" Hyun Woo, the World of Warcraft arena championship, the Hearthstone third world championship, the Heroes of the Storm fall championship, and the Overwatch World Cup.[50]

Kristian Nairn, who played Hodor on the HBO series Game of Thrones, was the DJ during Blizzard's 25th anniversary party.[51] The closing ceremony concert was performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[52]

2017

edit
 
Outside of the Anaheim Convention Center for BlizzCon 2017

On March 14, Blizzard Entertainment announced that BlizzCon 2017 would be held on November 3 and 4, with tickets being available to 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.[53] On September 13, 2017, Virtual Tickets began being sold; this ticket included a faction-specific flying mount in World of Warcraft, and other special items in the various Blizzard games.[54][55]

Blizzcon 2017 had a record number of more than 35,000 attendees due to a recently completed expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center.[56]

The gaming announcements included that the next expansion to World of Warcraft would be Battle for Azeroth, there would be official World of Warcraft Classic servers, a new hero for Overwatch named Moira was added as well as a new map called "Blizzard World", StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty's first campaign, multiplayer and other modes of the game are now free,[57] and Hearthstone's next expansion Kobolds and Catacombs and it would be released in December 2017.[58]

The esports events at BlizzCon 2017 included the 2017 StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals won by Lee "Rogue" Byung Ryul, the World of Warcraft arena championship won by ABC, the Hearthstone Inn-vitational won by the Grimestreet Grifters, the Heroes of the Storm HGC Finals won by MVP Black, the Overwatch World Cup won by South Korea for the second time, and StarCraft: Remastered Ultimate Title Fight won by Bisu.[59]

The closing concert was performed by Muse.[60]

2018

edit

Blizzard Entertainment announced that BlizzCon 2018 would be held on November 2 and 3 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with tickets being available to purchase from Universe.com on May 9 and 12.[61] A third round of tickets went on sale on August 18.[62]

The announcements on the first day included Warcraft III: Reforged, a remaster of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, The Frozen Throne, with a release sometime in 2019;[63] Ashe, a new Western-themed hero for Overwatch;[64] Orphea, daughter of the Raven Lord, the first original character for Heroes of the Storm, who will be given free to attendees and Virtual Ticket holders;[65] the Rastakhan's Rumble expansion for Hearthstone;[66] World of Warcraft Classic, which had a playable demo available for both attendees and Virtual Ticket holders, will be released in the middle of 2019, and will be included in the regular World of Warcraft subscription;[67] and Diablo: Immortal, an action role-playing game for mobile devices.[68] The announcement of Diablo: Immortal was poorly received by attendees and Blizzard fans across the board, resulting in a high number of dislikes on the YouTube gameplay and cinematic trailers, and considerable criticism from gaming journalists, streamers, and the YouTube community.[69]

The esports events at BlizzCon 2018 included the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals won by Joona "Serral" Sotala,[70] the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship won by Method Orange,[71] the World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon Invitational All-Stars won by Free Marsy, the Hearthstone Global Games won by the China team,[72] the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship won by Gen.G,[73] and the Overwatch World Cup won by South Korea for a third consecutive time.[74]

Closing festivities included three simultaneous concerts by Train, Kristian Nairn, and Lindsey Stirling.[75]

2019

edit

Blizzard Entertainment announced that BlizzCon 2019 would be held on November 1 and 2 at the Anaheim Convention Center, with tickets being available to purchase from AXS.com on May 4 and 8.[7] In lieu of the traditional "goodie bag," convention attendees will be able to choose between an orc grunt or human footman statue to commemorate 25 years of Warcraft.[76]

The gaming announcements included that Diablo IV was under development, Overwatch 2 was confirmed, World of Warcraft's eighth expansion Shadowlands, and a Hearthstone expansion Descent of Dragons along with a new game mode called Battlegrounds which are due to be released in December 2019.[77]

The esports events at BlizzCon 2019 included the Overwatch World Cup that was won by the United States,[78] StarCraft II WCS Global Finals won by Park "Dark" Ryung Woo,[79] the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship won by Method Black, and the World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon International won by Method EU,[80] and the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals won by VKLiooon, the first female to win Grandmasters in that game.[81]

Closing festivities included three simultaneous concerts by The Glitch Mob, Haywyre, and Fitz and the Tantrums (the last concert was viewable for attendees only).[82]

2020s

edit

2020

edit

In April 2020, Blizzard announced[83] 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 the COVID-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.[84]

2021

edit

On September 21, 2020, Blizzard announced that the virtual event BlizzConline would be held from February 19–20, 2021.[85] It featured the unveilings of Diablo II: Resurrected and the remastered version of The Burning Crusade expansion for World of Warcraft Classic, and further details on Overwatch 2 and Diablo Immortal.[86]

In May 2021, Blizzard announced that BlizzCon as an in-person event would be cancelled once again 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.[87]

2022

edit

On October 26, 2021, amid, but without specifically 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."[88]

2023

edit

In May 2023, Blizzard announced that BlizzCon will be held on November 3 and 4 at the Anaheim Convention Center.[89]

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. The first wave would be sold on Saturday July 8, 2023 at 10 AM PDT while the second wave would be sold on Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 10 AM PDT. A new restriction was placed that attendees could only purchase a maximum of two tickets per transaction. This is down from four tickets per transaction for BlizzCon 2019.

Additionally, they included a Mature warning for some content at BlizzCon. Therefore children under the age of 7 would not be permitted to enter and anyone under the age of 17 must be accompanied by an adult. They further announced that BlizzCon 2023 will be live stream for free. The Virtual Ticket will be a purely optional purchase and still contain several in-game goodies for various Blizzard games.

Further changes being made to BlizzCon include: the Opening Ceremony seating will now be a random-draw system since it will take place in the smaller BlizzCon Arena. In addition, all panels and Community Night events will also take place in the BlizzCon Arena and sitting will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. All events that take place in the BlizzCon Arena will be simulcast around screens at BlizzCon. They state that this is in an attempt to being a one-of-a-kind immersive experience throughout the venue.[90]

Hall E of the Anaheim Convention Center was also not used, it was historically dedicated to the Blizzcon Store and merchandise pick-up, as well as hosting the costume contest. It was moved to the bottom half of the North Hall.[91]

Blizzard WorldWide Invitational

edit

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 [92] 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 2008 Archived April 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

References

edit
  1. ^ "Blizzard Entertainment". Archived from the original on July 12, 2005.
  2. ^ "Blizzcon Raises Ticket Prices For Third Straight Year". April 12, 2011. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  3. ^ "BlizzCon 2013 Tickets On Sale April 24 and 27". Blizzard Entertainment. April 4, 2013. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "BlizzCon 2014 Conquers Anaheim November 7 and 8". Blizzard. April 22, 2014. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  5. ^ "BlizzCon 2018 Virtual Ticket - BlizzCon". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  6. ^ "BlizzCon Benefit Dinner Tickets Sold Out". Blizzard Entertainment. May 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "5 Things You Need to Know Before You Buy a BlizzCon Pass - BlizzCon 2019". blizzcon.com. Blizzard Entertainment Inc. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  8. ^ "2012 Battle.net World Championship Event". Blizzard Entertainment. January 25, 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  9. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (April 25, 2024). "Blizzard Cancels BlizzCon 2024, Promises Return in Future Years". IGN. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (September 21, 2020). "BlizzConline will bring back Blizzard's canceled convention as an online show in February". The Verge. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  11. ^ "BlizzCon 2021 Canceled, Will Return In 2022 With "Smaller, In-Person Gatherings"". GameSpot. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  12. ^ Koch, Cameron (October 26, 2021). "Blizzard Is Cancelling BlizzCon 2022 To Reimagine The Future Of The Event". GameSpot. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  13. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (April 25, 2024). "Blizzard Cancels BlizzCon 2024, Promises Return in Future Years". IGN. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "BlizzCon 2005 - Part 1". Blizzplanet. November 13, 2016.
  15. ^ BlizzCon 2008 opening ceremony speech, Michael Morhaime
  16. ^ "20,000 tickets sold for BlizzCon 2009; sold out in just eight minutes". Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  17. ^ "Legendary Game Universes and Esports Superstars Take Center Stage at BlizzCon® 2018". Associated Press. November 4, 2018. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  18. ^ "ACTIVISION BLIZZARD ANNOUNCES THIRD-QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS". Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  19. ^ "The Celebration Collection - BlizzCon | Blizzard Shop". battle.net. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  20. ^ Lawler, Richard (October 26, 2021). "Blizzard will 'pause' plans for an online BlizzCon event in 2022". The Verge. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  21. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (April 25, 2024). "BlizzCon 2024 canceled, but promised to come back 'in future years'". Polygon. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  22. ^ "BlizzCon Has Left the Building". Blizzard Entertainment. October 31, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2007. [dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Protoss vs. Terran: Match-up Analysis". GameReplays. August 5, 2007. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  24. ^ "Terran vs. Protoss: Match-up Analysis". GameReplays. August 5, 2007. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  25. ^ "Blizzcon 2007 announced" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  26. ^ "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich Ling unveiled" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. August 3, 2007. Archived from the original on August 20, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  27. ^ "BlizzCon 2007 Gaming Festival to Feature Comedian Jay Mohr" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 20, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  28. ^ "BlizzCon". October 24, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  29. ^ "wcradio.com". wcradio.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010.
  30. ^ BlizzCon 2009 Ticket Sales are Done Archived June 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine WoW Insider June 1, 2009.
  31. ^ "DirecTV Blizzcon". DIRECTV. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  32. ^ BlizzCon 2009 Live Archived August 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ "Ozzy Osbourne to Headline BlizzCon Concert". Kotaku.com. August 11, 2009. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  34. ^ "Tenacious D Live Onstage at BlizzCon 2010". Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
  35. ^ "Tenacious D : Free Music : Free Audio : Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  36. ^ "GSL October Final in Anaheim". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  37. ^ "FOO FIGHTERS TO ROCK THE HOUSE AT BLIZZCON 2011". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  38. ^ "Blizzard Entertainment's Blizzcon 2013 Storms Anaheim November 8 and 9" (Press release). Blizzard Entertainment. February 19, 2013. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  39. ^ "Second Batch of BlizzCon Tickets Sold Out". Blizzard Entertainment. April 27, 2013. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  40. ^ "BlizzCon 2013 Virtual Ticket On Sale Now". Blizzard Entertainment. September 12, 2013. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  41. ^ "Mike Morhaime talks about the BWC, HoTs, 2013 Blizzcon, and more". GameSpot.com. November 18, 2012. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  42. ^ "Hearthstone Innkeeper's Invitational". Blizzard. October 10, 2013. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  43. ^ "SoCal Punk Legends Blink-182 to close out Blizzcon 2013". Blizzard. October 31, 2013. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  44. ^ "BLIZZCON 2014: BLIZZARD'S NEW GAME IS 'OVERWATCH'". ign.com. November 7, 2014. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  45. ^ "Hearthstone's new expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes, to add 120 cards in December". Pocket Gamer. November 7, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  46. ^ "Metallica Performing Live at BlizzCon® 2014". Blizzard. October 21, 2014. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  47. ^ New Hearthstone Expansion The League of Explorers Announced Archived November 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  48. ^ Linkin Park to Bring Down the House at BlizzCon 2015 Archived October 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  49. ^ "Get a Sneak Peek at the BlizzCon 2016 In-Game Goodies 2016". blizzcon.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  50. ^ a b "BlizzCon 2016: Overwatch's Sombra revealed, Diablo returns, Hearthstone's Gadgetzan, and more". PCWorld. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  51. ^ "BlizzCon 2016: Kristian Nairn (Hodor) Will DJ The Anniversary Party - Geek Girl Authority". October 28, 2016. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  52. ^ Weird Al Yankovic live at BlizzCon 2016 Archived October 28, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Blizzard
  53. ^ "Another Chance At Tickets For BlizzCon® 2017— On Sale July 5!". blizzcon.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  54. ^ "BlizzCon 2017 Virtual Ticket On Sale". Wowhead. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  55. ^ "BlizzCon® 2017 In-Game Bonus Items Incoming!". Blizzard Entertainment Inc. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  56. ^ "These BlizzCon 2017 photos show what it's like when 35,000 cosplayers, fans descend on Anaheim". Orange County Register. November 3, 2017. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  57. ^ Haywald, Justin (November 4, 2017). "Starcraft 2 Dev On The Effects Of Going Free-To-Play". Gamespot. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  58. ^ Clark, Time (November 3, 2017). "Hearthstone heads underground in December with the Kobolds & Catacombs expansion". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  59. ^ Blizzcon 2017: Esports winners and announcements roundup Archived November 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 9, 2017
  60. ^ "Join Us At BlizzCon 2017". blizzcon.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  61. ^ "BlizzCon 2018 Announced - November 2 & 3". hearthpwn.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  62. ^ "BlizzCon® 2018 – Third Ticket Sale August 18 at 10 A.M. PT". BlizzCon.com. Blizzard Entertainment. August 16, 2018. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  63. ^ "Warcraft III: Reforged". playwarcraft3.com.
  64. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (November 2, 2018). "Overwatch's New Character Hero Ashe Revealed As 29 At BlizzCon".
  65. ^ "Heroes of the Storm adds its first original character: Orphea". November 2, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  66. ^ "Hearthstone's Hearthstone's next expansion is Rastakhans Rumble". November 2, 2018. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  67. ^ "World of Warcraft on Twitter: World of Warcraft Classic is coming summer 2019, and will be included in your #Warcraft subscription". Twitter. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  68. ^ Diablo: Immortal is coming to mobile Archived November 3, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 2, 2018
  69. ^ Kain, Erik. "The 5 Biggest Problems With This 'Diablo Immortal' Fiasco". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  70. ^ "StarCraft II Celebrates a New Champion". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  71. ^ "Inside a Methodical AWC 2018 Championship". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  72. ^ "Team China Takes Down HGG 2018". Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  73. ^ "HGC Crowns a Champion at BlizzCon 2018". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  74. ^ "Postcard from BlizzCon: South Korea Three-Peats". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  75. ^ "Schedule - BlizzCon 2018". Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  76. ^ "BlizzCon 2019 Commemorative Collectible Celebrates 25 Years of Warcraft - BlizzCon 2019". blizzcon.com. Blizzard Entertainment Inc. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  77. ^ "BlizzCon 2019 news – our roundup of all the announcements". November 4, 2019. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  78. ^ "United States win gold at 2019 Overwatch League World Cup". Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  79. ^ "Dark wins the StarCraft II WCS Global Finals at BlizzCon 2019". Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  80. ^ "Method take first in BlizzCon's Arena World Championship, Mythic Dungeon International". Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  81. ^ "BlizzCon: Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals: VKLiooon heads to the grand finals". Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  82. ^ "BlizzCon 2019 Closing Ceremony Bands Announced". Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  83. ^ "A Note About Blizzcon". Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  84. ^ Romano, Sal (May 26, 2020). "BlizzCon 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus concerns". Gematsu. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  85. ^ "Save the Date for BlizzConline™ February 19–20". Blizzard Entertainment. September 21, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  86. ^ Hood, Vic; Loeffler, John (February 5, 2021). "BlizzCon 2021: Everything we saw at BlizzConline this year". TechRadar. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  87. ^ Peters, Jay (May 26, 2021). "BlizzCon 2021 has been canceled". The Verge. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  88. ^ Lawler, Richard (October 26, 2021). "Blizzard will 'pause' plans for an online BlizzCon event in 2022". The Verge. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  89. ^ Romano, Sal (May 17, 2023). "BlizzCon 2023 set for November 3 to 4". Gematsu. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  90. ^ "BlizzCon 2023 tickets on-sale July 8 and July 22!". news.blizzard.com. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  91. ^ "BlizzCon 2023 Convention Lay-out". www.blizzcon.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  92. ^ "WWI 2007". July 25, 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BlizzCon&oldid=1221239746#2016"