What is it, what to expect, start date, and more

Gaming fans are fanatical, but Blizzard game fans are truly hardcore. The fanbase for the many popular gaming franchises of Blizzard Entertainment is not only huge, but these folks take their gaming seriously. That’s why Blizzard holds its occasional BlizzCon fan events to celebrate both their games and the fan communities that have formed around them. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, Blizzard is holding its (mostly) annual BlizzCon 2021 event completely online.

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It’s calling this year’s event BlizzConline. The company used it to not only reveal a ton of news and announcements, but also fans used it for some great opportunities for fans to get together to discuss lore, show off some cosplay, and much more.

Here is what has been revealed at Blizzard 2021:

What is BlizzCon?

BlizzCon was first held in 2005, and was organized by Blizzard Entertainment to offer fans a chance to get together to celebrate the developers’ many games. With the exception of 2006, 2012 and 2020, the two-day event has been held annually at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The location also happens to be very close to Blizzard’s world headquarters in Irvine, California.

The attendance for BlizzCon is carefully controlled by the developer. The first BlizzCon had just 4,000 attendees, but the most recent event had 40,000 people attend from all over the world. Tickets for BlizzCon normally sell out almost immediately after they go on sale, even though ticket prices have gone up to nearly $230 for the event.

Blizzard usually makes major game announcements during BlizzCon, and fans in the past have gotten their hands on early builds of upcoming games. They can also attend developer and fan panels, enter art and cosplay contests, and more. Usually, BlizzCon ends with a huge concert, with major artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Foo Fighters, Tenacious D, Metallica, and others playing during past events.

When and where will BlizzCon 2021 be held?

Blizzard confirmed they would not be holding a BlizzCon event during 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, the developer did announce that it would hold BlizzCon 2021 as an online-only event.  “BlizzConline” will be held on February 19-21, 2021, with video panels shown on the BlizzCon website. 

How much will BlizzCon 2021 cost?

The good news is that BlizzCon 2021, or BlizzConline, is completely free to view on the event’s official website. That means no worries about not being able to get a ticket this year. The site will have up to six video channels where you can watch pre-recorded and live footage of panels and events. BlizzCon 2021 will also be available to stream on Twitch and YouTube. After the event, the video panels will continue to be available to view on demand.

What announcements were made at BlizzCon 2021?

Here’s what’s been revealed so far

Diablo IV

Blizzard first announced, and also showed off some early gameplay, from its fantasy action-RPG Diablo IV during the last BlizzCon in November 2019. At Blizzcon 2021, the company confirmed the game will have a playable Rogue character class. However, the game is not expected to be released this year.

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Blizzard actually released two trailers for the new Rogue class. The first was purely cinematic, while the second showed off a mix of cinematic and actual gameplay footage.

Diablo II Resurrected

Long rumored, the company finally revealed Diablo II Resurrected at BlizzCon 2021. This is a remastered version of the action-RPG classic. The new version will be playable on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One, Series S, and Series X consoles. It will also feature cross-progression for those platforms. The remastered version includes 3D models, but you can switch to the original 2D graphics at any time. The game’s cinematic sequences will also get a refresh. Both the original game and its expansion pack, Lord of Destruction, will be included. It’s due sometime in 2021.

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World of Warcraft

Blizzard’s long-running fantasy MMO has seen a resurgence of players in 2020, in part due to the coronavirus lockdowns. For the main game, the company announced a major new content patch for the Shadowlands expansion. Called Chains of Domination, it includes a new endgame campaign, a new endgame zone in Korthia, the City of Secrets, and more. It will also make some major changes to  The Maw zone. It’s due out later in 2021.

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For fans of the World of Warcraft Classic MMORPG, it will soon add the game’s first expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. It will also be out later in 2021.

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Hearthstone

The mobile-PC collectible card game-RPG, set in the Warcraft universe, continues to be popular. The next expansion was announced during BlizzCon 2021. It will be called Forged in the Barrens and will have 135 new collectible cards. It will also include new features, including spell schools and ranked spells. It will be released later this spring.

Blizzard Arcade Collection

Blizzard revealed this new game bundle at Blizzcon 2021. It collects three of its older games, Lost Vikings, Rock n’ Roll Racing, and Blackthorne. The bundle includes new features, including the ability to rewind games up to 10 seconds, a way to watch games being played and then jump in at any time, and a way to save your progress at any time. Best of all, this bundle is available right now. PC owners can get it as part of the “Celebration Collection” bundles via Battle.net. It’s also available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One as a downloadable bundle for $19.99.

Overwatch 2

There wasn’t a lot of major news about the upcoming sequel to the team-based shooter at BlizzCon 2021. However, the company did go over a number of new details about the game in a separate video presentation. There’s no word on a release date for this game.

In-game bonuses

While BlizzCon 2021 is free, Blizzard is selling what it calls “Celebration Collection” bundles as part of both the event and Blizzard’s 30th Anniversary celebration. These bundles include in-game items and rewards for a variety of Blizzard games. You can learn more about these virtual bundles, and purchase them now, at Blizzard’s website.

That’s all we know about BlizzCon 2021. Stay tuned as we will update this page with news from the actual online fan event.