Blizzard Entertainment has announced that it has officially canceled this year’s BlizzCon 2020 expo due to coronavirus concerns.
The news follows on from an update published last month, where the publisher warned that plans for this year’s events were very much up in the air. Blizzard cited the logistical hurdles and safety concerns thrown up by the global pandemic as barriers to hosting BlizzCon in its usual Autumn window.
At the time, Blizzard explained, ‘While we’re all hopeful things will look better later in the year, the bottom line is that at this point it’s too early to know whether BlizzCon 2020 will be feasible. The health of our community, employees, and everyone who helps with the show is our top consideration. It might be a few months before we know for certain if or how we’ll proceed, but as soon as we have a meaningful update, we’ll share it.’
A month later, Blizzard has published a further update revealing that after discussions over the feasibility of this year’s event, it has taken the decision not to have BlizzCon in 2020.
Blizzard says, ‘We’re feeling deeply disappointed about this decision, and imagine many of you will feel the same. I truly love BlizzCon, and I know that’s a sentiment shared by everyone at Blizzard. We will sorely miss connecting with so many of you at the convention and “recharging our geek batteries” this fall.’
The update says the ever-changing nature of the situation, vacillating national and local health guidelines, and the gargantuan task of navigating health and safety considerations motivated the decision to cancel BlizzCon 2020.
Despite lockdown measures easing across the globe, it appears Blizzard doesn’t feel suitably able to take precautionary measures to protect attendees in a fashion the publisher deems satisfactory.
Blizzard did, however, strike a positive note, promising fans that the event would return and that it is eyeing up an online digital-only replacement event. Blizzard says that porting its expo to the digital realm is new territory, and as such, the publisher doesn’t expect to have the necessary structure in place to host an event until early next year.
Alongside, Blizzard is exploring alternatives to the many high-level competitive eSports events that make up the usual BlizzCon schedule. These will presumably shift online as well.
Blizzard promises to provide more news as it becomes available.