Recap: BlizzCon 2021, originally scheduled in November, has been cancelled due to concerns over public health, as well as logistical complications, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. The convention will instead be delayed to the start of 2022 and replaced by global online events similar to BlizzConline which took place earlier this year.

Blizzard's Executive Producer of BlizzCon, Saralyn Smith released a statement to confirm the company's top convention had been cancelled, instead organizers are planning a global event along the lines of the recent BlizzConline which took place last February.

In the statement, Smith points to California's ever-changing guidelines around in-person gatherings as one reason why Blizzcon is being relegated to online events, and smaller in-person gatherings for the second year in a row. Even if the guidelines were to be completely dropped before November, when the convention was originally scheduled, Smith claims that the uncertainty in the early parts of 2021 has left BlizzCon organizers with too little time, and "past the point where we’d be able to develop the kind of event we’d want to create for you in November."

Congratulations @HartiganCosplay for winning Best in Show at the #BlizzConline Cosplay Contest! pic.twitter.com/prrF4XjDHM

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) February 20, 2021

Looking back at Blizzard's first online convention earlier this year, it seems like the new format did not stop die-hard fans from participating in full form.

The BlizzConline hashtag on Twitter is littered with all of the things that made the in-person BlizzCon so exciting. Mountains of high-quality cosplays vied for victory in the online contest held by Blizzard, and there's no shortage of hype for the games covered in the event.

In the last in-person BlizzCon in 2019, tickets were available for $229, with a "Portal Pass" option giving access to additional events for $550. The first BlizzConline was a free event. It is likely this will remain for the 2022 edition, though that's yet to be confirmed.