Fans of World of Warcraft may be disappointed to hear that Blizzard has canceled its BlizzConline event that was slated for February 2022.
The event was initially teased by Blizzard Entertainment back in May 2021, several months before the company came under fire for allegations ranging from sexual harassment, discrimination, and gender inequality that were revealed in a State of California investigation that spanned for years.
Several firings of prominent Blizzard Entertainment employees, such as the game director for Diablo IV, have occurred since the lawsuit. In addition, pandemic-induced delays have affected many top franchises for the company.
Blizzard released a statement Tuesday about the cancelation, citing a need to reimagine future in-person BlizzCons as well as the need to be as “safe, welcoming, and inclusive as possible.” There was no mention of the lawsuit in the statement.
“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.”
The statement went on to say that much has changed since the first BlizzCon was held 16 years ago, such as the multiple ways players and communities can come together. They added that they are committed to “continual communication with our players” and that they foresee BlizzCon playing a “big role in that going forward.”
Blizzard’s rock star development culture, which has allegedly led to unprofessional dynamics at BlizzCon in the past, has been well documented in numerous reports.
If Duncan Jones’ Warcraft film adaptation from 2016 is any indication, with its global financial success despite mixed reviews, we’re guessing there’s still plenty of demand for the videogame franchise to continue its saga going forward.
