BlizzCon in 2023 - Blizzard Announces Return of Event
BlizzCon will return in 2023. Blizzard's CEO Mike Ybarra assured that work is underway to resume the once annual gaming event after a three-year hiatus.
We are bringing good news for fans of Blizzard (are there any still here?). The studio's current CEO, Mike Ybarra, assured in an interview for the Los Angeles Times website that work is underway to organize a BlizzCon in 2023, and with public participation.
Three years without a "real" BlizzCon
If this plan can be realized, we are in for the first "real" BlizzCon in three years. In 2020 and 2021, stationary events were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. As if to make up for it, a digital BlizzConline was held in February 2021. Eight months later it was announced that the BlizzCon - in any form - is suspended indefinitely.
The pandemic is not the only problem
In the company's official announcement, we can read, that:
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.
Thus, the company did not say a word about the lawsuit that the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed against it at the time.
For the record, the case involved a number of numerous problems described by us related to harassment, gender discrimination and the general work culture at Activision Blizzard, of which Blizzard Entertainment studio is a part. The lawsuit itself was ultimately rejected due to a "lack of specifics."
Old-new BlizzCon
In the Los Angeles Times interview, Mike Ybarra admitted that this situation "undoubtedly affected people and their morale." Over the past few months, however, there were to be some changes in the company. Thanks to them, BlizzCon 2023 is supposed to be possible.
We recently hired a new leader of BlizzCon, April McKee [with more than 20 years at Microsoft - ed.], who is hard at work on that plan, Ybarra said. - We are committed to bringing back BlizzCon in 2023.
Interestingly, all indicates that the planned event will be held in a fairly similar format to that of 2005-2019. Blizzard tried to create a new concept, but ultimately wants to "return to a live event that enables us to celebrate the community."
