I grew up playing Blizzard games from a young age. In elementary school, I played StarCraft, and in middle and high school, I played Diablo. In college, I was hooked on World of Warcraft, and around the time I started working as a journalist, Overwatch came out. To me, Blizzard was never just another developer to brush off casually.
It was hard to imagine an PC bang without Blizzard games. There was even a time when I thought Battle.net alone was all I needed to play every game I wanted. Looking back now, I wonder how I could have been so obsessed with a single gaming company, but to me back then, Blizzard was just that huge and towering.
After more than a decade as a journalist, attending BlizzCon for the very first time naturally filled me with high expectations. I still remember the roaring cheers when StarCraft II was first unveiled and when Diablo III was revealed. I can never forget the shock when Overwatch's first trailer was released. This was a chance to experience in person the reveal site of Blizzard's new titles that I had only watched through videos before. I wanted to feel those cheers for myself.
What surprised me first upon arriving at BlizzCon were the fans. Starting on Friday, the day before the opening, long lines stretched out just to pick up admission passes. So many people gathered a day in advance just to collect tickets early for a convention hosted by a single company for its own games. It hit me anew just how many people loved Blizzard.
The line to buy merchandise stretched long along the convention center building. People who could have left after picking up their passes were waiting again just to buy merchandise. Thinking it might quiet down in the evening, I went back, but even as 9:00 PM approached, crowds still lingered around the venue. No major events were even taking place in the areas I looked around, yet people remained there regardless.
Seeing the convention center filled with people even late at night reminded me what an incredible company Blizzard was. But I heard something unexpected from a senior colleague who had covered BlizzCon multiple times. Compared to the past, they said this wasn't even that crowded. In the past, it was difficult to even bring a car to Anaheim because there was nowhere to park.
With this many people, this was a drop in numbers? As a first-timer, it was hard to fathom. While I stood amazed by the crowd before my eyes, my senior was remembering a BlizzCon that drew vastly larger crowds.
However, the more I looked around the event, the harder it became for me to remain blindly optimistic about BlizzCon's future. I could fully feel the passion of the fans who came today. What weighed on my mind was the fans who would come here in the future.
In the venue areas I walked through, it was hard to spot children. Adult attendees stood out, and even among the cosplayers, most were adults. It felt strongly like a gathering of people who, like me, grew up playing Blizzard games and still loved them.
If I had seen many children in cosplay holding their parents' hands, my thoughts might have been different. I could have pictured children loving the games their parents loved, growing up, and coming back to BlizzCon. I didn't see enough of those moments. Even if current fans keep coming back in the future, I couldn't help but ask myself: 'What comes after that?'
The new game announcements didn't instill enough hype to ease those concerns either. Diablo V was revealed, and StarCraft returned as a shooter. Headline-wise, it was thrilling news. But sensing the reaction on-site, the crowd's response wasn't as fiery as expected. I felt the same way. It was certainly exciting news, but the thrill didn't feel genuine from deep within.
'Diablo V' and a 'new StarCraft title' — a decade ago, just showing the names and logos would have brought down the roof at the Anaheim Convention Center. Yet the reason this moment didn't feel as dramatic as before was because times have changed, I have changed, and Blizzard has changed too.
Above all, the news felt too far off. Release windows were announced for Spring 2029 and Spring 2030, respectively. Although Diablo V revealed concepts for its world, classes, and systems, what hit me harder than what kind of game I would eventually play was the reality that we have to wait several more years.
In today's climate, three to four years is not a trivial amount of time to wait. Layoffs have plagued the gaming industry for several years now. Even AAA titles from major studios are far from guaranteed success. This year alone, we've heard news of multiple AAA projects being canceled.
Blizzard was no exception. They too went through tough times. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, announced in 2022, was finalized in 2023. In 2024, lay-offs hit various departments, including development teams. On top of that, this is a time when people worry about how AI will reshape jobs. Neither those making games nor those aspiring to work in the industry can look ahead a few years with peace of mind.
Seeing games that won't come out for years announced so early left me with mixed feelings. The Diablo V development team explained that they wanted to gather fan feedback early and reflect it in development. But to me, it almost felt like a plea to Microsoft not to lay them off so they could finish making the game. To end up worrying whether they can even finish making the game from an announcement asking us to wait for it...
Of course, I am not immune to job insecurity either. I don't know if I will still be working as a journalist by the time the games promised by Blizzard are released. When neither the creators nor those waiting can be confident about their own situations a few years down the line, how can anyone be blindly thrilled by a release announcement set in the distant future?
Blizzard is likely doing the best it can as well. Remaking games that many fans already love and inviting them back into familiar worlds is expertise Blizzard has built up over a long time. Furthermore, considering the losses from a failed game, I understand that trying new things isn't easy. Still, relying solely on retaining existing fans won't solve Blizzard's future.
Existing fans will continue to come to BlizzCon in the future. They will play games, buy merchandise, cosplay as their favorite characters, and talk about the games they enjoyed together in the past. The love from fans I witnessed firsthand this time ran that deep.
However, if it remains merely a gathering of existing fans without attracting new ones, BlizzCon will inevitably fade away alongside them as they grow older and leave one by one.
I don't believe Blizzard needs to regain its former dominance completely. Even for me, when I turn on my computer, I open Steam far more often than Battle.net now. That's how far I've drifted from the days when I believed games from a single company were enough. They say ten years changes the landscape, and enough time has passed for that landscape to change multiple times over. Not every game needs to be a Blizzard game like back then. However, today's kids still need a reason to love Blizzard.
Fans going wild over a new game reveal, children dressed up as their favorite characters holding their parents' hands — if I had seen plenty of that at this BlizzCon, I would have believed this festival would continue for a long time. Giving current fans a reason to wait for the next game, and giving non-fans a reason to start playing for the first time. I believe that is ultimately what Blizzard needs to accomplish.
My first visit to BlizzCon was intense, nostalgic, and a little melancholy. The joy of visiting a place I had wanted to see at least once in my lifetime was undeniable. Yet, I never expected to find myself thinking that BlizzCon might not last forever. Despite so many fans coming, I couldn't help thinking that if things continue like this, it might come to an end someday.
That is why the time bought by the fans is so precious. As long as they keep showing up, Blizzard gets the chance to make the next game and bring in new fans. It cannot stop at merely confirming how loyal current fans are. While those fans wait, Blizzard must bring in the next generation.
I hope today's kids build memories of their own playing Blizzard games and eventually visit BlizzCon for the first time. I hope Blizzard becomes a company that continues for another ten years, and then another ten years after that. That way, I can hold onto the hope of returning to BlizzCon someday — with a bit of luck, as a journalist, or if not, as a fan.
