Blizzard President Mike Ybarra reveals the comeback of BlizzCon in 2023

On July 6, Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra told Los Angeles Times that the gaming convention BlizzCon will make a relaunch in 2023.

“We previously announced we’re taking a pause on BlizzCon while we reimagine it for the future but do want to return to a live event that enables us to celebrate the community,” Ybarra told LA Times.

As everyone can recall, BlizzCon was put on pause due to the effects of the pandemic in 2020. Blizzcon’s Executive Producer, Saralyn Smith, said that the company considered some options at that time, but “each one could be complicated by fluctuations in national and local health guidelines in the months ahead.” This led to the decision to halt the convention that year, but it was also announced that fans could look forward to a digital successor. Unfortunately, after giving us the taste of the BlizzConline in 2021, the digital event was canceled in 2022, saying that it would “like to take the time to reimagine what a BlizzCon event of the future could look like.”

The online event was canceled in the middle of the lawsuits and allegations the company has been facing. In the announcement during that time, the topic regarding the company’s sexism and toxic culture was not mentioned, but Blizzard said that “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.”

Now that Ybarra is trying to change the culture at Blizzard, it entails the resurrection of the gaming convention that fans used to attend in person annually before the pandemic. There are still no exact dates of when it will be held (though it could be in October or November), but the company seems pretty serious about making the next event possible. “We recently hired a new leader of BlizzCon, April McKee, who is hard at work on that plan. … We are committed to bringing back BlizzCon in 2023.”