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BlizzCon 2022, which was deliberate for February in a digital format known as BlizzConline, has been cancelled, in line with an announcement Tuesday from Blizzard Leisure. There isn’t any date for a rescheduling, however the developer intends to “reinvent” BlizzCon throughout this time.
The assertion reads, partly:
Any BlizzCon occasion takes each single certainly one of us to make occur, an entire-company effort, fueled by our want to share what we create with the neighborhood we care about a lot. At the moment, we really feel the vitality it could take to placed on a present like that is finest directed in direction of supporting our groups and progressing growth of our video games and experiences.
Moreover, we’d additionally prefer to take the time to reimagine what a BlizzCon occasion of the long run may appear like. The primary BlizzCon was held 16 years in the past, and a lot has modified within the time since—most notably, the a number of methods during which gamers and communities can come collectively and really feel like they’re part of one thing larger. Regardless of the occasion appears to be like like sooner or later, we additionally want to make sure that it feels as protected, welcoming, and inclusive as attainable. We’re dedicated to continuous communication with our gamers, and we see BlizzCon enjoying an enormous function in that going ahead. We’re enthusiastic about what we’ll do with the occasion once we revisit it sooner or later.
Whereas BlizzCon received’t be hosted in February, Blizzard make bulletins for its video games. Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 are nonetheless in growth, and neither sport at the moment has a launch date. Blizzard additionally maintains stay service video games like World of Warcraft, and we’ll probably hear extra about updates like Patch 9.2 within the present Shadowlands enlargement.
Activision Blizzard faces wide-ranging allegations that it maintains a poisonous office surroundings that’s significantly hostile to ladies. California’s Division of Truthful Employment and Housing (DFEH) investigated the corporate for 2 years earlier than submitting the lawsuit, and located that girls are paid much less and topic to sexual harassment, with out significant punishment utilized to perpetrators. Within the interval for the reason that lawsuit was filed in late July, the DFEH has expanded its grievance to incorporate allegations that Activision Blizzard “suppressed” proof in its investigation. The corporate denies that declare. Activision Blizzard is at the moment going through a number of lawsuits and a U.S. Securities and Change Fee investigation. One among its lawsuits, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Alternative Fee, was settled for $18 million earlier this 12 months.
Greater than 40 Activision Blizzard staff have been disciplined within the months following the preliminary lawsuit. Additionally in its wake, Blizzard made good on its promise to rename the Overwatch character previously often called McCree: He’s now Cole Cassidy.
Staff on the firm, too, proceed to talk out on social media and elsewhere to encourage substantial change. You possibly can learn extra concerning the allegations towards Activision Blizzard in Polygon’s explainer.
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