Blizzard Entertainment released the schedule for this year’s BlizzCon — an online-only event dubbed BlizzConline — showing what fans can expect from the two-day digital show. While the BlizzConline 2021 schedule doesn’t offer too much detail, it appears that both the World of Warcraft and Diablo franchises will be a major focus at the event.
BlizzConline will kick off Friday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. PST with an opening ceremony. According to the schedule, that will run just over an hour. The opening ceremony will be followed by a pair of “What’s Next” panels for World of Warcraft and Diablo. Typically, those panels at BlizzCon offer additional insight into announcements made during the show’s opening ceremonies.
While we don’t expect a new expansion for World of Warcraft, given that Shadowlands just arrived in November, details on an upcoming content patch could be revealed. Blizzard’s other version of its massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft Classic, could be a focus as well. Blizzard recently reportedly surveyed players about interest in bringing the Burning Crusade expansion to Classic.
As for Diablo, we know that Diablo 4 is in the works, as is Diablo Immortal, the mobile version of Blizzard’s action role-playing game. A remake or remaster of Diablo 2 is also reportedly in the works at Blizzard, courtesy of Vicarious Visions, the developer behind recent Crash Bandicoot and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater remakes.
Diablo and World of Warcraft will also be the subject of “Deep Dive” and developer Q&A panels at BlizzConline.
Blizzard’s other properties (Overwatch, Hearthstone, and StarCraft) appear to have a smaller presence at the show. Overwatch 2 will get a behind-the-scenes look on Friday, and Hearthstone will be the subject of a “Deep Dive” that will offer “a closer look at what’s coming” to the competitive card game in 2021.
Activision Blizzard set expectations for Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2’s release dates earlier this month during an investor presentation, when it confirmed that neither title is expected to arrive before 2022.
BlizzConline will take place Feb. 19-20, and will be free to watch.
