BlizzConline, the digital-only version of Blizzard’s longtime fan convention, begins next week, and those eager to learn more about the long-awaited ones like Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 can now examine the event’s full schedule to plan their schedules accordingly .
Described as a “celebration and exhibition of the all-digital community of Blizzard games and universes”, BlizzConline starts next Friday, February 19th, and runs through Saturday, February 20th. It is a free event, available to watch via Twitch and YouTube, and will feature a series of events broadcast on six channels with different themes – a general Blizzard channel and others focused on World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo, Overwatch and “strategy”.
Probably the most important watch of the weekend will be the Opening Ceremony, which starts the whole event at 22h GMT / 14h PST next Friday. This promises to deliver “the latest Blizzard Entertainment news”, and I hope to include some decent revelations.
BlizzConline official trailer 2021.
After the Opening Ceremony, starting at 11:10 pm in the UK, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo, Overwatch and strategy channels will begin broadcasting their individual event programs, with the schedule promising updates for “What’s Next” for Diablo and Hearthstone, alongside Behind the Scenes of Overwatch 2. The Blizzard channel, however, will highlight segments of choice from all five BlizzConline offerings as the show unfolds.
Saturday programming starts a little earlier, at 8:00 pm GMT / 12pm PST, and will continue with individual Q&A programs, developer panels, artist demos and even cooking workshops throughout the day. However, all six channels will merge again at 9.05 pm for an hour-long Community Showcase focused on “the best art, talent, narrative and cosplay from the Blizzard community” before doing their own thing again.
While it is currently unclear how much Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 will be broadcast on BlizzConline, Activision recently indicated that fans will need to be patient for their eventual arrival, with no game set to launch this year. However, Diablo Immortal, the free-to-play mobile offering that received less than a stellar reception at BlizzCon 2018, will be launched in 2021, and “several free Warcraft experiences to play mobile” are in advanced development.