BlizzCon 2018 dates announced, tickets go on sale in May

The two-day bash known as BlizzCon will return for 2018 on November 2-3 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Blizzard announced today. Tickets will be available at universe.com for $199 each (plus taxes and fees) and will be available for purchase in two batches, the first starting at 7 pm PT/10 pm ET on May 9, and the second at 10 am PT/1 pm ET on May 12. 

"BlizzCon is our favorite time of the year at Blizzard," co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime said. "It’s our chance to meet and really get to know the people behind the Terran commanders, demon hunters, and Tracer mains we play with every day—to share our passion for games and esports with each other, and celebrate what being in the Blizzard community is all about." 

As always, this year's big event will feature developer panels and Q&A sessions, contests, cosplay, exclusive loot and merchandise, and big esports events. Blizzard Opening Week, running October 25-29 at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, will lead into BlizzCon with the opening rounds of the StarCraft 2 World Championship Series Global Finals, the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Finals, and the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship Finals. Finals for all of those tournaments, as well as the Overwatch World Cup and Hearthstone Global Games, will take place during BlizzCon itself. 

Blizzard fans who can't attend the show live will have the option of taking part online via the Virtual Ticket, which offers livestreamed coverage of the event and various bits of bonus content, including the exclusive BlizzCon in-game items. Tickets to a pre-BlizzCon charity dinner on November 1, where attendees will have the opportunity to meet Blizzard developers, artists, and community reps, will go on sale at 7 pm PT/10 pm ET on May 16 for $750 each, with net proceeds going to support CHOC Children's.  

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.