BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention organized by Blizzard Entertainment. It promotes the company's major game series, such as Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch.

The first BlizzCon took place in October 2005. Since then, all events have been held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, which is near Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine. The convention includes game-related announcements, previews of upcoming Blizzard games and content, Q&A sessions, panels, costume contests, and playable versions of Blizzard games. The Closing Ceremony has featured concerts by artists such as The Offspring, Tenacious D, Foo Fighters, Ozzy Osbourne, Blink-182, Metallica, Linkin Park, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Muse. Blizzard also held a similar event outside the United States from 2004 to 2008. This event was called the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational.

Tickets and pricing

General admission tickets are the basic experience for BlizzCon. They allow attendees to join all panels on both days, play new games, patches, and expansions, and order exclusive Blizzard merchandise online before the event. Since 2005, ticket prices have changed many times as the event grew and more people attended.

• BlizzCon 2005: Tickets cost $120.
• BlizzCon 2007 & 2008: Prices dropped by $20 to $100.
• BlizzCon 2009: Prices rose by $25 to $125.
• BlizzCon 2010: Prices rose by another $25 to $150.
• BlizzCon 2011 & 2013: Prices rose by another $25 to $175.
• BlizzCon 2014–2018: Prices rose by another $24 to $199.
• BlizzCon 2019: Prices rose by $30 to $229.
• BlizzCon 2023: Prices rose by $70 to $299.

Each general admission ticket includes a goody bag with items such as beta keys for upcoming Blizzard games, special Blizzard items, and in-game rewards. In-game rewards have included pets, transmog, mounts in World of Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm; exclusive card packs for Hearthstone; heroes for Heroes of the Storm; cosmetic wings and pets for Diablo III; skins for Overwatch; and portraits, unit skins, and console skins for Starcraft: Remastered and Starcraft II.

Starting in 2009, the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner, also called the VIPs Dinner, became an extra ticket option. The dinner donates all money earned after costs to the Children's Hospital of Orange County. Guests can meet game developers, artists, executives, and other Blizzard employees.

These tickets included a signed print of Blizzard artwork, a BlizzCon ticket, and access to the dinner. Later events added reserved seating for the Opening Ceremony and Community Night on the first day. These tickets usually had their own sale dates. Prices were:

• $500 for BlizzCon 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013
• $750 for BlizzCon 2014–2019

In 2019, the Portal Pass became an extra ticket option for $550. It replaced the Benefit Dinner option for BlizzCon 2023. The Portal Pass is a better option than General Admission. The price rose by $229 to $799 for BlizzCon 2023. It provided extra access to:

• "Night at the Faire" event in the Darkmoon Faire area the night before BlizzCon started (BlizzCon 2019 Only)
• Access to convention halls before general admission (BlizzCon 2019 Only)
• A private viewing lounge with video feeds of the panels
• A rotating group of Blizzard employees and special guests
• Early entry to the Portal Pass Lounge on both days
• Preferred lines for registration and security
• Preferred parking areas
• Private concessions (introduced with BlizzCon 2023)
• Gameplay experiences (introduced with BlizzCon 2023)
• Concierge support (introduced with BlizzCon 2023)

Event cancellations

BlizzCon is usually held every year. However, it was not held in 2006, 2012, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025.

• The first time BlizzCon was not held was in 2006. No reason was given for this cancellation.
• BlizzCon was not held again in 2012. A Blizzard community manager said the company was working on releasing several games that year and felt it might not have anything new or exciting to share. In 2012, World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion, Mists of Pandaria, and Diablo III were released. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm was released in March 2013.
• BlizzCon was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A virtual event called BlizzConline was held in February 2021 instead of an in-person event.
• BlizzCon 2022 was planned to have a mix of virtual programming and smaller in-person events. However, it was not held in October 2021 to focus on supporting employees and developing games. The company also wanted time to change the event to be safer and more welcoming. This cancellation happened during a lawsuit by the California government against Activision Blizzard, the parent company of Blizzard.
• BlizzCon 2024 was not held in April 2024. No reason was given for this cancellation.
• BlizzCon 2025 was also not held in March 2025. No specific reason was provided, but Blizzard shared plans for BlizzCon 2026 in the announcement.

BlizzCon events

Attendees could try one of the two new playable races, the Blood Elves, from the Outland expansion, which was released as World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in 2007. Playable demos of the single-player and multiplayer modes of the canceled game Starcraft: Ghost were available. A songwriting competition was judged by Jonathan Davis of Korn.

Level 60 Elite Tauren Chieftain, comedian Christian Finnegan, and The Offspring performed at the closing concert.

A pre-release version of StarCraft II was available for play (the game was later released as StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in 2010). Players could try the single-player mode or 2v2 matches as Terran or Protoss. Most of the game, except for the Zerg race, was shown, and attendees could ask questions. The second expansion to World of Warcraft, titled Wrath of the Lich King, was officially announced and playable.

Comedian Jay Mohr performed at the closing ceremony. Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain (who changed their name to match the new level cap in The Burning Crusade) and Video Games Live performed at the closing concert.

During the opening ceremony, Blizzard president Michael Morhaime revealed the third playable class for Diablo III, the Wizard, and announced that Starcraft II would be split into three separate games.

Playable versions of Diablo III, StarCraft II, and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King were available for testing at the convention. Tournaments and competitions were held for the World of Warcraft trading card game, World of Warcraft miniatures game, StarCraft, StarCraft II, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and World of Warcraft arena. For the first time, the Zerg race was playable in the StarCraft II demos.

BlizzCon 2008 was broadcast live on DirecTV for US viewers only as a pay-per-view event, offering eight hours of content each day in high definition. Blizzard fansite WoW Radio provided live audio through SHOUTcast.

At the closing ceremony on Saturday, comedians Kyle Kinane and Patton Oswalt performed. The closing concert featured Video Games Live, who played music arrangements from all Blizzard games, including music from Wrath of the Lich King.

To address low ticket availability from previous years, the convention added a fourth hall and a new online ticket queue system. DirecTV again broadcast both days of BlizzCon 2009 as a pay-per-view event for $39.95, offering eight hours of content per day in standard and high definition. Purchasers received an exclusive "Grunty the Murloc Marine" in-game pet. In 2019, BlizzCon was streamed online with a "Virtual Ticket" for free access to live events, including interviews, presentations, and tournament highlights.

The third expansion to World of Warcraft, titled Cataclysm, was announced. Diablo III and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty were playable. Ozzy Osbourne performed at the closing concert.

The fifth playable class for Diablo III, the Demon Hunter, was revealed. A StarCraft II modification called "Blizzard DotA" was presented, which later became Heroes of the Storm. Diablo III, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm were playable.

BlizzCon 2010 was streamed online through a "Virtual Ticket," offering four live feeds from the convention floor and 50+ hours of programming. DirecTV again broadcast both days of BlizzCon 2010 as a pay-per-view event for $39.95, with ten hours of content per day in standard and high definition.

Korean player MVP_Genius won the StarCraft II BlizzCon Invitational. A vinyl record titled Revolution Overdrive: Songs of Liberty was released for the event. Tenacious D, featuring Dave Grohl, performed at the closing concert. Recordings of the event were released for free as part of the Live Music Archive.

The opening ceremony featured a new Diablo III cinematic trailer titled "The Black Soulstone," a StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm reveal trailer showing new units and abilities, a "Blizzard DotA" trailer for a new game based on StarCraft II, and the announcement of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, a new expansion. Diablo III, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria were playable. DirecTV again broadcast both days of BlizzCon 2011 as a pay-per-view event.

The GOMTV Global Starcraft II League October final match took place in Anaheim alongside BlizzCon. Moon "MMA" Sung Won defeated Jeong "Mvp" Jong Hyeon, 4–1. The closing concert featured a performance by Blizzard's in-house band, The Artist Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftains (TAFKL80ETC), who changed their name mid-concert to Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftains (L90ETC). The Foo Fighters headlined the closing concert.

BlizzCon 2013 was held on November 8 and 9 in Anaheim. Tickets were sold in two batches on April 24 and 27, 2013, and sold out quickly. Blizzard also sold special tickets for a Benefit Dinner and a Virtual Ticket for live streaming.

The Heroes of the Storm "Cinematic Trailer" was presented with an alpha version of the game available for play. Hearthstone was announced for release on iOS and Android with public beta testing. The fifth expansion to World of Warcraft, Warlords of Draenor, was officially announced with a trailer. Warcraft film concept art was shown. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls was announced for release on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

Gaming events included the finals of the 2