Activision Blizzard has canceled the BlizzCon and BlizzConline 2022 events until the immediate future. Early this year the company announced it was planning to hold BlizzCon 2022 sometime in February next year, after postponing it because of the COVID pandemic.
This decision to cancel the popular annual community event that debuted in October 2005 is taken while the World of Warcraft and Diablo creator is currently facing lawsuits and investigations regarding sexual harassment and employment discrimination. With the event is on indefinite hold, Blizzard is also going to reimagine how it will play out in the future. Here’s the official statement from the company.
We’ve decided to take a step back and pause on planning the previously announced BlizzConline event scheduled for early next year. This was a tough decision for all of us to make, but it’s the right one.
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.
Additionally, we would also like to take the time to reimagine what a BlizzCon event of the future could look like. 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.”
Despite BlizzCon and BlizzConline 2022 being canceled, the company still promises to showcase announcements and updates for its upcoming projects, such as Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and updates to World of Warcraft in the official channels. Activision Blizzard hasn’t announced a release window for any of the titles mentioned.
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