No BlizzCon for 2012

Blizzard announced today that its annual convention for all things Blizzard will not occur this year at the Anaheim Convention Center like it normally does, nor anywhere else. In a post on their BlizzCon site, Blizzard noted that due to its numerous current development, including Diablo III, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and World of WarCraft: Mists of Panderia, BlizzCon would be held off until next year in 2013.

BlizzCon has been an annual event since 2007, with each year announcing a new product or feature. It could be with all of their current projects, they have nothing new to announce. It could also be a financial decision, with Blizzard stating several times that BlizzCon is a loss for them in terms of profit, and held purely as a gesture of goodwill for the fans.

It’s interesting to note that 2012 was the year that Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime mentioned would be the first news of their upcoming next-gen MMO project, Titan. With BlizzCon 2012 off the plate, it’s doubtful that we’ll hear anything about this project until next year.

In the same post, Blizzard announced the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, bringing in the world’s best StarCraft II and World of WarCraft arena teams to compete in Asia at the end of this year.

BlizzCon 2011

As of the posting of this, I will be on my way to Anaheim for BlizzCon 2011. This will be my fourth year attending and I still highly recommend it for anyone who plays a Blizzard game or enjoys the social aspect of their games.

This year’s event will mainly revolve around Diablo III, scheduled to release sometime early 2012. Will we see the announcement of an official release date? Maybe, but this year’s BlizzCon won’t solely be about Diablo III. Blizzard will also release more information about the first expansion for StarCraft II, Heart of the Swarm, as Blizzard has already teased a new unit.

It’s also expected that Blizzard will reveal their next expansion for World of Warcraft. Based on previous announcements, Blizzard tends to announce a new expansion for World of Warcraft every two years, with this year falling in line. Rumors have already begun swirling about Mists of Panderia, a trademark Blizzard filed earlier this year, as the name of the expansion.

The entire BlizzCon schedule is available on blizzcon.com and available as an app for your smartphone.

If you’re in the area, let me know and we can meet up and chat. Be sure to follow my Twitter feed for news and impressions straight from the event floor.

BlizzCon 2010: Recap and Impressions

After my week from hell, I was so happy to get away for a weekend and head down to Anaheim for this year’s Blizzcon. In case you live with earmuffs and blinders on, Blizzcon is an annual convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to celebrate their games and fans. Some of the biggest names in gaming are created by Blizzard, specifically their main three franchises, Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.