Announced by Blizzard Entertainment, details for this year’s BlizzCon were revealed on Tuesday, April 22, an event which will be taking place this coming November at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California.
“ BlizzCon is always the biggest highlight of the year for us, ” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment in a press release . “ With Hearthstone and Reaper of Souls recently launched and Heroes of the Storm and Warlords of Draenor gearing up for beta, 2014 is already shaping up to be an epic year for Blizzard gamers. We can’t wait to celebrate and share what we’ve been working on with everyone this November. ”
Lasting from Friday, November 7 to Saturday, November 8, tickets for the two-day event will go on sale in two batches: one on Thursday, May 8, 4am CET, and the other on Saturday, May 10, 7pm CET. Tickets for an exclusive pre-BlizzCon dinner–the proceeds of which will benefit the Children’s Hospital of Orange County–will be available in limited quantities, and will go on sale on Thursday, May 15, 4am CET. A list of what attendees can look forward is detailed below. Please bear in mind that more activities and attractions are still to be announced.
Hands-on play time with the latest versions of Blizzard Entertainment games
Global finals for Blizzard eSports, including the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals
In-depth discussion panels with Blizzard game developers and artists
Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents
Community contests with great prizes
- Commemorative merchandise based on Blizzard Entertainment’s game universes
Tickets are available for purchase via Eventbrite , first on May 8 and then on May 10. Those wanting to attend the event will have to lay down $199 (plus applicable taxes and fees) each.
Tickets for the pre-BlizzCon dinner are bought through the same service, and they also included admission to the event. However, its price tag is $750 each, and the proceeds will be passed on to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County to support its Feeding Therapy Program.
The dinner itself will be taking place on Thursday, November 6, and it will present you with the opportunity to eat, drink and chat the Blizzard Entertainment crew. Approximately 200 tickets will be available for purchase through Eventbrite. Those attending BlizzCon may be interested in making hotel reservations in advance and utilize special event rates by booking through Blizzard’s BlizzCon hotel website .
For those who can’t attend the event physically, you will be able to purchase the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, which will offer your comprehensive live coverage of the event via a multi-channel livestream. Further details on these tickets–such as pricing, availability and so on–will be announced at a later date.
Follow PAX East in Boston on Friday, April 11, Blizzard gave a recap on its MOBA Heroes of the Storm while at the event. On April Fools’ Day, Blizzard had some fun announcing a few joke titles, two of which were a renaming of the third installment to StarCraft II from Legacy of the Void to “ Herald of the Stars ”, and the announcement of the side-scroller beat-em-up Outcasts: Vengeance of the Vanquished .
On Wednesday, April 9, Heroes of the Storm’s game director Dustin Browder published a post about how to effectively use your heroes both in and out of team fights, employing ambush tactics and hero focuses alike across the early, mid and late game. Blizzard has also released Battle.net Gift Cards , which will be available across a wide range of retailers in Europe for €20 / £15 each.
[ Blizzard.com ]