BlizzCon 2023: all the latest news and trailers – The Verge

Blizzard’s president on the studio’s ‘new era’ under Xbox

2023-11-06T13:30:00-05:00

Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra and Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer at BlizzCon 2023. | Photo by Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

The dust is finally starting to settle from Microsoft's huge acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but even Blizzard president Mike Ybarra still isn't exactly sure how things will change for the company. "I literally haven't sat down with [Microsoft Gaming CEO] Phil [Spencer] and said, 'So what does all this mean?'" Ybarra tells The Verge in an interview.

Ybarra doesn't seem worried, though. As part of his opening remarks at Friday's BlizzCon 2023 keynote, Ybarra said that the show was the start of a "new era" for the company.

"I think the way [Spencer] approaches building teams and focusing on culture and enabling creative freedom is going …

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BlizzCon 2023 takes place in person in November

2023-05-17T13:25:45-04:00

We already knew that BlizzCon would return as an in-person event in 2023, and on Wednesday, Blizzard announced that the show would take place on November 3rd and 4th at the Anaheim Convention Center. Blizzard is promising details "next month" about things like ticketing information and competition details, but you can book accommodations now through Blizzard's hotel blocks if you want.

There's a lot going on with Blizzard right now, so it should be a big show. We're just weeks away from the release of Diablo IV. The studio might try and make some big Overwatch 2 announcements to ease the pain of scrapping the hero mode. And I have to imagin …

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Blizzard will bring back BlizzCon in 2023

2022-07-06T19:04:45-04:00

It's been a few years since Blizzard has hosted an in-person version of BlizzCon, its fan convention, but it sounds like that's going to change in 2023. The company, known for huge franchises like World of Warcraft and Diablo, is "committed to bringing back BlizzCon in 2023," Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra told the Los Angeles Times.

"We previously announced we're taking a pause on BlizzCon while we reimagine it for the future but do want to return to a live event that enables us to celebrate the community," Ybarra said. "We recently hired a new leader of BlizzCon, April McKee, who is hard at work on that plan. … We are committed to bringing bac …

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