Exactly a year ago to the day the in-person BlizzCon was cancelled and now the same fate has befallen the 2021 edition of the event.

In an announcement to the community Saralyn Smith, Executive Producer of BlizzCon, breaks the news to fans. If you guessed “it’s because of COVID-19, right?” then you’d be correct.

“As guidelines in California around in-person gatherings continue to evolve and the status of the pandemic fluctuates around the globe… so today, we wanted to give you a heads-up that we’ve decided we will not be holding BlizzCon this year,” Smith writes.

While the coronavirus vaccine is finally available its rollout and availability has been rough. Even in developed countries like America which have had relative success, a majority of vaccinations has not yet occurred meaning that COVID-19 is still spreading.

So what about an online event? Back when BlizzCon was cancelled in 2020 some online content was promised for 2021, and that was fulfilled in February, but only as a kind of catch-up for last year.

“…in the meantime, we’re planning a global event for the early part of next year, combining an online show along the lines of our recent BlizzConline with smaller in-person gatherings, and we’ll share more as our plans come together,” Smith adds.

Many have speculated that the real reason BlizzCon 2021 has been cancelled, and no online component will be released this year, is simply because Blizzard has nothing to show the public.

We’ve heard precious little of big projects like Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV recently leading many fans to think that this cancellation has less to do with the pandemic and more to do with a lack of exciting stuff to show.

Regardless of the real reason this means that we’re going to have to wait even longer for news on awaited titles like those aforementioned, as well as more infamous ones such as Diablo Immortal.