The Gamescom 2019 must take place without Blizzard. However, Blizzard fans find this quite acceptable – some German observers are worried that Gamescom 2019 is losing a major attraction.
Last night, there was the announcement that Blizzard will not be present at Gamescom 2019. There is simply nothing to announce, and they want to use the extra time to work on projects.
But how did this news resonate with the community? We take a look at the opinions about Blizzard’s absence across the internet.
Many have already come to terms with it: Basically, most Blizzard fans seem to have expected the announcement or at least are not surprised. In various subreddits related to the individual games, many show understanding. It would only make sense that Blizzard withdraws from Gamescom for now and instead prepares for their own BlizzCon.
As xInnocent writes: “Why should they announce their stuff at Gamescom when BlizzCon is just around the corner? I see no sense in that.”
The BlizzCon 2019 must be a success: Many players remember the BlizzCon 2018 as a major mess. There were only a few announcements, and the few (like Diablo: Immortal) were poorly received by a large portion of attending fans.
Therefore, it is suspected that BlizzCon 2019 will be a proper event “for the fans” and a faux pas like last year will not happen again.
Some react cynically: However, there are also some players who react quite cynically to the cancellation of Gamescom.
They understand Blizzard’s absence at Gamescom, as it “is obvious after all the layoffs that they no longer have people who can participate in such events.”
Activision Blizzard has indeed laid off numerous employees who were not directly involved in game development. Therefore, some suspect that currently, there are simply no people available for such an event.
However, no matter how Blizzard decides now, they will not be able to please all players. Or as MisterPotat summarizes:
“The irony is that many people thought Blizzard should have canceled BlizzCon 2018 because there wasn’t much new. Now people are complaining that they are not going to Gamescom. You can’t satisfy the people who just want to complain.
For me, this means they have learned their lesson and would rather not hold shows if they don’t have something substantial to show.”
Loss of significance for Gamescom?
How do German observers react? The news of Blizzard’s absence appears to also have an impact on the “Gamescom” fair itself. After all, losing Blizzard means losing an important attraction.
On German sites, one reads comments that express concern about Gamescom as an event:
- “Oha … Will others follow? What could be the reason for that? America First? Make E3 Great Again. (via FB/Gameswirtschaft)”
- If one really assumes half the hall, that is about 8000m² that are missing – The Cologne Trade Fair/Gamescom has something to compensate for. Independently of that, it is of course a serious blow for visitors if you are a fan of Blizzard and their titles, and the cosplay scene will regret this greatly, as there has always been a large contest there. (via FB/Gameswirtschaft).”
- On our site MeinMMO, there were mainly comments that alluded to BlizzCon 2018, such as “Guys, don’t you have any Blizzard games, or what?” Apparently, they view it very critically, that Blizzard is turning to mobile platforms.
What do you think, why is Blizzard skipping Gamescom this year? Is there simply not enough to talk about? Do they not want to waste their powder from BlizzCon? Or are there really not enough people available?
