2023-10-03 09:10:00
BlizzCon 2023 will open in a month. Typically, tickets to the show in Anaheim sell like hotcakes. Since the launch of BlizzCon in 2005, we have become accustomed to seeing all of the available tickets gone in just a few minutes. This year, quite the opposite is happening. After two sales sessions, a third was organized by Blizzard last Friday. And guess what? It’s Tuesday… and there are still tickets available.
BlizzCon has always been a huge success. For nearly 15 years, Blizzard had to manage a demand that never seemed to dry up. From 4,000 to 5,000 people for the first edition, the show gradually grew to welcome no less than 40,000 visitors in 2019.
However, the last few years have been significantly more difficult for Blizzard. Between the pandemic Covid-19 and the scandal of harassment which shook Activision Blizzard, the studio kept a low profile. We were treated to a BlizzConline in 2021 and nothing at all last year.
Blizzard took the time to organize BlizzCon 2023. But for the first time in BlizzCon history, there are tickets left. How to explain it?
Well the first reason is undoubtedly financial. A ticket is worth 299 US dollars to which taxes must be added. It is a significant amount at a time when the increasing cost of living is playing tricks on many households. It therefore becomes more difficult to justify such an expense, especially as other costs are added: travel, hotel, food, etc. This is even more true for players who reside outside of the United States.
The second reason also comes from the fact that BlizzCon will be streamed for free online. Previously, you had to purchase a Virtual Ticket. This year, it will be a BlizzCon Collection, so understand that you will be entitled to in-game goodies specially created for the occasion, but this will remain optional and you will be able to enjoy the conferences without spending a cent.
We can also cite the fact that Covid has cooled (no pun intended) a good part of the population. Trips like this may scare part of Blizzard’s public for health reasons.
Among the potential reasons for these slower than usual ticket sales, some players may have been disappointed with Blizzard in recent years. Personnel management concerns, waves of layoffs as well as problems of sexism have inevitably tarnished the reputation of a company which was adored by its players. We also remember the infamous Cosby Suite which took place… at BlizzCon.
There may be other things to consider. This BlizzCon 2023 is different from the others, in that the developers are planning fewer conferences than usual. They will all be held in the Arena, while the bulk of the show will be dedicated to various stands, as well as demo stands.
It might also be argued that theeSports now has a less important place at Blizzard, or that the games perhaps arouse less excitement. Blizzard fans at the time were going to BlizzCon to play a new WoW expansion, Diablo III, and get their hands on exclusive titles. Today, the company has changed, offering more mobile games and Free to Play, its audience has also changed… and the latter is perhaps less fond of conventions like BlizzCon. The audience at the first BlizzCons has aged, with all that this brings in terms of changes in life.
Finally, I would also be curious to know how many tickets were put on sale. Is it a show like those of 2018 and 2019 with around 40,000 visitors? Are we moving towards an even bigger show with 45,000 to 50,000 visitors?
In any case, it is now up to Blizzard to prove that BlizzCon is worth the trip by offering a quality show and games that will increase players’ excitement. Count on us to relay all the information and summarize the conferences 😉
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