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Blizzard will host BlizzConline, an online-only BlizzCon for 2021

Jon Silman
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Video game developer Blizzard Entertainment has announced it will replace the previously canceled BlizzCon 2020 with an all-online alternative called BlizzConline.

“Attune your chronometers, flip your hourglasses, set a notification on your phone — however you mark the passage of time, save the date for BlizzConline, set to take place February 19-20, 2021!” the company said in the announcement.

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BlizzCon 2020 was canceled in May due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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While it didn’t announce if any games were going to make an appearance at the online event, Blizzard did share activities and guidelines for it.

The event will feature a Community Showcase, “an opportunity for cosplay crafters, artists, and other community creators to participate in the show and put their talent on display through a mix of world-class competition and exciting exhibitions.”

The showcase will feature a cosplay exhibition and a cosplay contest, with categories like best character, best weapons and armor, best modern creation, and best traditional creation. Blizzard is also planning an art contest, and a digital storytelling contest where “aspiring digital filmmakers and moviemaking auteurs” are asked to create an “original, story-driven short based on Blizzard’s game universes.”

Blizzard also announced an online talent spotlight “to celebrate the wide range of unique talents and extraordinary abilities of the Blizzard community worldwide.” The gaming developer said it wants solo acts or groups that are “musical, physical, magical, whimsical, or otherwise.”

One of the benchmarks of a BlizzCon over the past few years has been the March of the Murlocs, where hundreds of people dressed up as the fictional characters parade through the convention hall. For BlizzConline, potential participants will be able to submit a video of themselves walking dressed as a murloc, and Blizzard will re-create the march virtually.

Submissions for any of the events must be sent in to Blizzard by January 4, 2021.

In past years, Blizzard has used the convention to announce games like Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, and Diablo 4. Blizzard has yet to announce any other aspects of this online-only event.

“We still have a lot of planning to do, and it’ll be some time before we’re ready to share more details — but we wanted to provide a heads-up on how you can be a part of the online fun,” the company said.

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