BlizzCon 2016 will bring Blizzard fans together on the West Coast this fall

By Mike Epstein Published April 7, 2016

BlizzCon 2016 will head to Anaheim, California, on November 4-5, Blizzard Entertainment announced Wednesday. This year marks the annual fan convention’s 10th anniversary, and 25th anniversary of the developer itself.

BlizzCon, a weekend gathering for devoted fans of the developer’s games, including World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, and Overwatch, features discussion panels about the games, and often includes an announcement or two new on upcoming projects. (Last year, for example showed the first trailer for the Warcraft movie.) In recent years, the convention has also become an important event on the eSports calendar: Blizzard’s global championship tournaments for Starcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft PvP all take place during the convention.

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Tickets for the event will go on sale in two waves: one on April 20 at 7 p.m. PT, and another on April 23 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets to the event will cost $199. For players who can’t attend in person, Blizzard said it also plans to offer a “virtual ticket,” which will give fans access to convention live streams and the ability watch (or rewatch) parts of the show on demand. Blizzard said it will announce more information about virtual tickets later this year.

In addition to attending (or watching) the convention, BlizzCon ticketholders will get a “goodie bag” with some exclusive in-game items. Blizzard also said it plans to open an exclusive online store early with a selection of convention merchandise, so con-goers can buy their swag and get it shipped home instead of having to carry it around. Virtual ticketholders will also get access to the convention’s online store.

Blizzard will also host a charity dinner on the evening before BlizzCon. Those who attend the $750-per-plate affair, whose proceeds will go to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, will be able to chat up the company’s developers in a smaller setting. Tickets for the dinner will go on sale April 27 at 7 p.m. PT.

When the time comes, you can pick up your BlizzCon tickets right here. We recommend loading up the page early, because they tend to go fast.

Former Associate Editor, Gaming

Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…

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