The COVID-19 pandemic has done some damage in the gaming community, with practically every convention or event being canceled because of it. 2020 has definitely been intense so far, and with the COVID-19 pandemic pretty much defining the last month or so, the last thing anyone is thinking about at this point is BlizzCon 2020.
So let’s talk about BlizzCon 2020 and get your mind off of things!
A note about our plans for BlizzCon in light of COVID-19: https://t.co/cnCQJeyJaS
— Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) April 9, 2020
Blizzard is being proactive with regards to BlizzCon 2020 and warning us now that some problems might appear. They don’t know exactly what could happen at the moment – in fact, the announcement is based on them saying that there’s no feasible way to know what could happen between now and then – but they want everyone to know that they’re ready to adjust when they need to.
“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,” Blizzard wrote in their announcement. “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.”
Saralyn Smith, the executive producer of BlizzCon and writer of the update, also discussed what they’ve had in action and things that have been in motion since before the COVID-19 pandemic kicked it into high gear. They discuss how the team has “been actively working to finalize our plans and in fact are still doing so, despite the workplace changes we’ve now made at Blizzard.” All in all, this includes “considering a range of scenarios and possibilities, not just in terms of the show, but also regarding what the experience would be for you.”
BlizzCon is a massive event, with Blizzard taking the opportunity to announce the biggest things they have coming out. This latest BlizzCon brought a batch of amazing content, like the announcement of Diablo IV and the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands announcement as well.
With that in mind, Blizzard will obviously be doing everything they can to hold the event as well as they can. That said, they have no choice but to put safety and health above anything else, whether that means moving the entire event online or holding it the way it’s traditionally been done. There will be more information as time moves forward and BlizzCon 2020’s planned date approaches, but until then, we’ll just have to hope the world returns to normal as soon as possible.
