Activision Blizzard has had a rough year, mostly because of the actions from some horrible leadership, but things aren’t looking up for the firm.
Back in May, Blizzard announced that it was planning a “global event” for the early part of 2022 following the constant cancellation of BlizzCon due to the ongoing pandemic.
Unfortunately, Blizzard has now announced that it has had to hit pause on planning this event.
“Any BlizzCon event takes every single one of us to make happen, an entire-company effort, fueled by our desire to share what we create with the community we care about so much. At this time, we feel the energy it would take to put on a show like this is best directed towards supporting our teams and progressing development of our games and experiences,” Blizzard wrote in a press release.
The two most notable titles yet to be released by Blizzard are Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. Neither of which has a solid release date at this stage. Overwatch 2 does seem to be further along in its development cycle but given this new BlizzConline news, it seems Blizzard doesn’t have all that much to show fans.
As such, it makes sense not to host an online event because what does Blizzard have to show off at this stage? New expansions for the likes of Hearthstone and World of Warcraft maybe?
What we find interesting is that Blizzard has said that it will take this off-period to reimagine what BlizzCon really is.
“The first BlizzCon was held 16 years ago, and so much has changed in the time since—most notably, the multiple ways in which players and communities can come together and feel like they are a part of something bigger. Whatever the event looks like in the future, we also need to ensure that it feels as safe, welcoming, and inclusive as possible. We’re committed to continual communication with our players, and we see BlizzCon playing a big role in that going forward. We’re excited about what we’ll do with the event when we revisit it in the future,” the firm said.
While it sucks that fans of Blizzard games have to wait longer for news on titles, we’re sort of glad that Blizzard has chosen not to host an online event. While some online events have been a slam dunk, many more have been woefully bad.
In addition, we’re sure Blizzard’s management and C-suite is rather busy with legal issues at the moment and an online event, no matter the size, is a cost it likely doesn’t want to incur.
