Blizzard Entertainment has revealed the schedule for its upcoming digital BlizzCon 2021, showing that there will be panels focused on both World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch 2 during the two-day event. BlizzCon 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with most other major in-person industry events, meaning that fans missed out on seeing big announcements about the publisher's various franchises all in one place.
Following the cancellation of BlizzCon in 2020, Activision Blizzard set about organizing an online event for the following year to ensure that it would not be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The now-digital convention will take place over February 19 and 20 and will be streamed directly across multiple platforms, such as Twitch and YouTube. It will also be free to watch for all viewers, as opposed to the premium model used for normal BlizzCon shows.
Blizzard has released the full schedule for BlizzCon 2021, giving fans a quick glimpse at what they might get to see during the event next week. Unfortunately, there is not a huge amount of detail in the schedule, but the information reveals exactly when each of the streamed panels will take place and which games and franchises they will focus on. BlizzCon will start on February 19 at 2 PM PST/5 PM EST with an opening ceremony, which will be followed by panels for World of Warcraft and Diablo. There are also smaller streams for the likes of Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, and StarCraft. It seems like the biggest focus will be on the former two franchises, which could detail new expansions or events that are set to release in 2021 and beyond.
Earlier this month, Blizzard essentially confirmed that Diablo 4 was not likely to release in 2021. Fans had been eagerly anticipating the dungeon crawler with hopes that it would launch this year but that no longer appears to be the case. A recent earnings call for the quarter stated that the company is not expecting it or Overwatch 2 to be available in 2021. Fans will instead have to make do with the upcoming mobile title Diablo Immortal, although it is still not clear exactly when the title will be released.
BlizzCon 2021 should be an interesting event and the schedule seems to confirm that fans will get some big announcements for some of Blizzard's biggest franchises. There should also be some news about upcoming titles like Overwatch 2 during the convention, with the publisher taking advantage of the fact that it should be able to reach a larger audience due to the fact it is being streamed live across the web.
Source: Blizzard