This is according to Blizzard president Mike Ybarra who told the LA Times the firm wants to return to a live event. “We previously announced we’re taking a pause on BlizzCon while we reimagine it for the future but do want to return to a live event that enables us to celebrate the community,” said Ybarra (thanks, GI.biz). “We recently hired a new leader of BlizzCon, April McKee, who is hard at work on that plan. We are committed to bringing back BlizzCon in 2023.” The last in-person BlizzCon was held in 2019 and went digital in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic. Plans for the 2022 version of BlizzCon, both in-person and online, were completely scrapped due to the current issues the company is facing. At the time, Blizzard said instead of planning BlizzCon, it wanted to put its energy toward supporting its teams and progressing the development of its games and experiences. Activision Blizzard has faced various legal issues since the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing brought a lawsuit against it over reports of promoting a “bro-culture,” multiple accounts of sexual harassment, bullying, unfair pay, and instances of gender discrimination. Ybarra told the LA Times Blizzard’s had a “tough two and a half years,” and the lawsuit and subsequent public fallout “impacted morale” at the company. That said, the studio is committed to changing its culture. “We’re listening to our employees, said Ybarra. “I’ve always firmly believed that when there’s a good culture across teams, creative excellence flows.”
