BlizzCon is back in Anaheim on 12 and 13 September
On this page
BlizzCon, which is Blizzard's own convention for its games, is back on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center, per Blizzard's own announcement. Two days, one venue, and a named list of what is on: opening ceremony, panels, the Darkmoon Faire, friendly competition and hands-on gameplay.
The Darkmoon Faire, for anyone who has not played, is a recurring in-game carnival in World of Warcraft, and Blizzard names it among the show's staples.
What the announcement actually commits to
There is a difference between a date and a schedule, and this is a date.
| In the announcement | Not in the announcement | |
|---|---|---|
| Days | Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September | any hour-by-hour timing |
| Venue | Anaheim Convention Center | hall or stage detail |
| Programme | opening ceremony, panels, Darkmoon Faire, competition, hands-on play | which tournaments, which finals |
| Tickets | sign up at BlizzCon.com for first notice | an on-sale date or a price |
| Broadcast | nothing | a stream plan, a paid at-home ticket, or Twitch reward drops |
Blizzard says it aims to "meaningfully elevate this iconic celebration", which is the language of a company that knows the last few years have been uneven. The announcement dates the first BlizzCon to 2005.
Our take: what it means for players
A two-day, single-venue BlizzCon is the shape, and the shape is the news.
An opening ceremony still on the list means the ceremony carries whatever announcement weight the year has. That is worth planning around if you follow one of Blizzard's games: our reading is that the ceremony is where the year's dates arrive, and that everything after it is elaboration.
Now the part we were not gentle about, and the update it has since earned. Nothing in this announcement mentions a stream, a virtual ticket or drops. For most of the people reading it, who will watch from home rather than fly to Anaheim, that was the one fact they wanted. Blizzard said plans would be shared as they took shape, and it has since published them. We have the running order and the stream plan in full in our piece on the schedule. That is late for a question this basic, and it is answered.
The thing we like: a convention that comes back at all, in a hall, with a schedule, is a genre keeping a tradition that costs money and returns goodwill rather than revenue. Worth defending, even while we complain about the broadcast.
What's next
Tickets have no on-sale date in this announcement. Blizzard asks people to sign up at BlizzCon.com for first notice, and to follow it on social media. That is the whole of the call to action in it.
We carry the event on the calendar with both days and the day we last checked it against Blizzard's page. If a broadcast plan, a ticket date or a tournament schedule appears on a Blizzard page, that row moves and the date it moved sits on the row.
Common questions
When and where is BlizzCon 2026?
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026, at the Anaheim Convention Center. BlizzCon is Blizzard's own convention for its games, and the studio gave both days and the venue in its announcement.
What has Blizzard committed to putting on at BlizzCon 2026?
Five things, by name: the opening ceremony, in-depth panels, the Darkmoon Faire, friendly competition and hands-on gameplay. The Darkmoon Faire is a recurring in-game carnival in World of Warcraft. Everything else, including any specific tournament finals or a broadcast plan, is absent from that announcement.
How do I find out about BlizzCon 2026 tickets?
Blizzard points to BlizzCon.com and asks people to sign up there for updates, saying subscribers will be among the first to know when tickets go on sale. The announcement gives no on-sale date and no price.
Written by 0hp from the publisher's own announcement, linked above, and every specific in it was checked against that page by a second pass before it published. Independent, and not affiliated with the publisher. Dates are announced or labelled as estimates. How this site is written, and how to correct it.
