A bigger spectacle for more spectators–Blizzard
adds more entertainment with content in more languages, interactive
features and, for the first time, a game demo debuting at the show
that’s accessible by viewers around the world
BlizzCon 2018 is a celebration of Blizzard’s
game community, with announcements, new game demos, panels,
contests, and world-class esports competitions; this year’s closing
festivities features three popular musical acts
Blizzard Entertainment today released major details about
BlizzCon® 2018, its epic celebration of gaming and community taking
place next week. On Friday, November 2, and Saturday, November 3,
an expected 40,000+ people, and millions more tuning in online from
around the world, will come together to see what has become a
spectacle of video game culture. Every BlizzCon is an epic moment
in Blizzard history, and this one promises to be another one to
remember—from announcements at the opening ceremony to the dozens
of stage events, community activities, and esports tournaments
taking place across more than 1 million square feet at the Anaheim
Convention Center in California.
BlizzCon 2018 is sold out, with record attendance expected this
year, but Blizzard wants to make sure as many people as possible
from around the world can be part of the show. This year, Blizzard
is adding to its slate of free livestreams, which include the
show’s opening ceremony and all esports tournaments. Last year,
over 10 million viewers from more than 180 countries tuned in to
BlizzCon.
Blizzard is also enhancing the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket with more
features and ways to be part of the show. The BlizzCon Virtual
Ticket is a paid service providing the deepest access available to
live content, with access to events from every major stage and
field reports from the BlizzCon show floor. It includes the same
in-game virtual item bonuses for Blizzard franchises that show
attendees receive and comes with access to dozens of videos on
demand (VODs) featuring original programming. As a first in
Blizzard’s history, this year’s Virtual Ticket also brings home one
of the demos being debuted at the show, with the World of Warcraft®
Classic demo available to players around the world around the same
time it goes live on the show floor.
“BlizzCon is simply the best part of the year for Blizzard and
our player community, as we come together for an epic celebration
of games and gamer culture,” said Saralyn Smith, executive producer
of BlizzCon at Blizzard Entertainment. “This is a welcoming home
for our global community. We co-create the show with our players,
and we want to involve as much of our community as possible in
forming the next epic moments that become Blizzard history.”
Never Miss a Moment
BlizzCon’s biggest news and announcements begin with the opening
ceremony at 11:00 a.m. PDT on Friday, November 2. Like last year,
online viewers can tune in for free to see the pre-show and opening
ceremony on the BlizzCon All-Access Channel starting at 10:30 a.m.
This year, there are more ways to catch BlizzCon live. Livestreams
are available via BlizzCon.com and the BlizzCon mobile app for
Android and iOS. For the first time, viewers can watch livestreams
using the BlizzCon TV app and the Blizzard Battle.net® desktop app,
and they can cast to their favorite devices using Google
Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Airplay. They can also
watch in more languages than ever, with content available in
English, Spanish, German, Korean, French, Chinese, Russian, and
Portuguese.
For the first time, the BlizzCon All-Access Channel is airing
two additional free livestream previews, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. PDT
on Friday, and again from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. PDT on Saturday. To
access the show programming available during these times, check out
the BlizzCon 2018 Schedule.
Along with the opening ceremony and All-Access Channel previews,
all esports programming at BlizzCon is livestreamed for free.
Show Events and Closing Festivities
BlizzCon spans nearly every part of the Anaheim Convention
Center (with more onsite broadcast equipment than many major league
sports events). Blizzard is again featuring a multi-stage opening
ceremony that will be simulcast throughout the convention center.
Panels and presentations featuring developers and special
guests—and plenty of memorable moments—take place both days of the
show across three stages: Mythic Stage, located in Hall D, and the
Epic and Legendary Stages, both located in North Hall Level 2.
BlizzCon has traditionally ended with a closing headline band.
BlizzCon 2018 is transforming that tradition into a closing music
festival featuring three distinct entertainment experiences: the
iconic American rock band Train, violinist and performance
artist Lindsey Stirling, and DJ and popular actor
Kristian Nairn. All three concerts will be streamed live in
HD to online viewers via the Virtual Ticket.
Community Night returns with the legendary Costume Contest,
Talent Contest, Movie Contest, and Art Contest. Featuring popular
VO actors Darin De Paul as host and Matthew Mercer joining the
judge’s panel, Blizzard’s biggest annual community stage show
starts at 7:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, November 2, and is available to
online viewers via the Virtual Ticket.
BlizzCon 2018 is also the site for Blizzard esports, gathering
elite players from around the world to make history in the
Overwatch® World Cup Finals, Hearthstone® Global Games Finals,
StarCraft® II WCS Global Finals, World of Warcraft Arena World
Championship Global Finals, World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon
Invitational All-Stars, and Heroes of the Storm® Global
Championship Finals.
Other show highlights include:
- Hands-on Gaming—Once the news is
out at the opening ceremony, attendees can enjoy hands-on demos
featuring new and just-announced content for our games and
franchises.
- BlizzCon Gear Store—Every
BlizzCon brings exclusive Blizzard gear that’s available onsite at
the show and online through the Blizzard Gear Store.
- Inclusion Nexus—Blizzard’s
diversity and inclusion (D&I) space returns, located on Level 2
above Hall A, featuring special activities, guest speakers and
representatives from Blizzard’s Women’s Advisory Council, LGBTQ
Council, and Veterans Group.
For a full breakdown of BlizzCon 2018 activities, programming
schedule, and other details about the show, check out our BlizzCon
guide or visit www.blizzcon.com.
BlizzCon 2018 Sponsors
BlizzCon is made possible in part by the generosity of our
partners, who help provide equipment and other support for the
show. This year’s partners include Cisco, Intel,
and Samsung SSD, along with the following sponsors who will
be hosting various activities at the show:
- CORSAIR—Check out a custom PC,
test your luck for prizes at the CORSAIR Claw machine, and choose
your side in the CORSAIR World of Warcraft photo booth.
- Facebook—Watch participating
livestreams on Facebook for a chance to earn special In-Stream
Rewards. Learn more: blizz.ly/BC18FBRewards.
- Nintendo Switch—Join the Diablo
III: Eternal Collection development team live on the show floor at
the Horadric Retreat, a great place to relax and run Rifts with
friends.
- NVIDIA—Enter to win prizes
including the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, hop into a photobooth with
special guests, and obtain an exclusive collectible patch.
- NZXT—Drop by the NZXT booth
where experts can answer your questions about building gaming PCs
and take a spin on the NZXT prize wheel for a chance to win a BLD
gaming PC.
- Republic of Gamers—Enter to win
amazing prizes and demo the latest hardware from ROG including the
cutting-edge new ROG Phone and a variety of powerful gaming
hardware.
- T-Mobile—Vote for the Overwatch
World Cup MVP on Twitter using #TMobileMVP and your choice’s
BattleTag™, take a photo with the MVP trophy, create your own
custom poster at the Un-carrier Lounge, and stay connected
throughout BlizzCon with complimentary Wi-Fi courtesy of
T-Mobile.
For press only, new assets are available at https://blizzard.gamespress.com/BlizzCon-2018.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®,
Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo®
franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard
Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision
Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of
entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s
most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track
record includes twenty-two #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year
awards. The company's online gaming service, Blizzard Battle.net®,
is one of the largest online-gaming services in the world, with
millions of active players.
*Sales and/or downloads based on internal company records and
reports from key distribution partners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves Blizzard
Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies
regarding the future, including statements about dates, content,
performances, activities, and viewing options for BlizzCon and the
BlizzCon Virtual Ticket are forward-looking statements that are not
facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that
could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product
delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of
Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and
any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking
statements in this release are based upon information available to
Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of
this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision
Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when
made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or
Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181025005392/en/
Blizzard EntertainmentRob HilburgerVP, Global
Communications949-955-1380 x13228rhilburger@blizzard.comorMeelad
SadatDirector Global Corp. Communications949-955-1380
x61127msadat@blizzard.com
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