Everything You Need to Know about BlizzCon 2018

Posted 2018/10/25 at 8:41 AM by perculia

Closing Ceremony Music FestivalWowhead Partyinfluencer meet-and-greet

Blizzard

Getting ready to set out on your BlizzCon 2018 journey in person or online with the Virtual Ticket? There’s much to learn, adventurer—read on to arm yourself with the knowledge you’ll need!

Essential Tools

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the schedule and map for details on all the glorious BlizzCon action, such as developer discussions, Community Night contests, and the closing festivities featuring three musical acts on three stages. For maximum efficiency, download the BlizzCon Mobile app to plan your strategy!

LIVE ATTENDEES
ONLINE & VIRTUAL TICKET

LIVE ATTENDEES

Coming to BlizzCon in person? Here’s what you need to know—plus some fun activities to look out for as you explore the show floor.

Show Hours
Friday, November 2 and Saturday, November 3, 2018
9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. PDT

Due to new security measures this year, we encourage you to arrive early!

Badge Pickup & BlizzCon Store
Head to Hall E to pick up your badge, then stick around to snag some swag at the BlizzCon Store, open all day Thursday. Use the Blink Shopping feature (coming soon) to place your order online and pick up your purchase on-site Thursday through Saturday. Registration and store location and hours are:

Anaheim Convention Center, Hall E
Thu 11/1 – 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Fri 11/2 – 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sat 11/3 – 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Watch the Opening Ceremony on Multiple Stages
Friday · 11am PT
The Opening Ceremony is taking over multiple stages again this year, with developers on the Mythic Stage, in the Overwatch Arena, on the World of Warcraft Tournament stage, and on the Hearthstone Tournament Stage! The presentations will also be simulcast to locations throughout the convention center, so there are plenty of places to catch the action.

Closing Festivities with Train, Lindsey Stirling, and Kristian Nairn
Saturday · Starting 7:30pm PT
Venture forth across the convention center as for the first time ever, three different musical acts will take over three different stages to bring BlizzCon to a crescendo! Check out Train live at the Mythic Stage, Lindsey Stirling at the Heroes of the Storm stage, or Kristian Nairn in the Overwatch Arena. The evening starts with a community sendoff at 7:30pm, and the music begins at approximately 8 p.m. Learn more.

Security Updates – Arrive Early!
We’ve updated our security measures for this year’s BlizzCon. In addition to bag checks, there will be metal detectors in place at each entry point where you show your BlizzCon badge. We expect it will take extra time to get everyone into the convention area compared to past BlizzCon events, so please plan accordingly. Learn more.

Inclusion Nexus
Connect with Blizzard staff and guest speakers at the Inclusion Nexus, a place for our community to come together with us and share their experiences around topics related to inclusivity. Located on Level 2 of the convention center above Hall A, the Inclusion Nexus features tables set up by Blizzard’s Women’s Advisory Council, the LGBTQ Council, and the Blizzard Veterans Group, as well as a graffiti wall to capture your voices. Learn more.

Darkmoon Faire
Don’t miss the mysterious Darkmoon Faire, returning to BlizzCon this year (North Hall, Level 2). You’ll find plushie pet adoption, toy capsules, and more, including a host of new trading opportunities for Blizzard Collectible Pins and Badges. Learn more about pin and badge trading at BlizzCon.

March of the Murlocs
Don your fins, practice your best “Mrrglrgg!”, and join us to pay homage to our favorite fishy friends at the March of the Murlocs on Saturday, November 3. Our march through the convention center starts in Hall D at 10:45 a.m., so don’t be late! Learn more.

ONLINE & VIRTUAL TICKET

Joining the fun from home? Here’s what you need to know about this year’s online BlizzCon experience—some available to watch free, and all of it unlocked via the Virtual Ticket.

More Ways to Watch Than Ever

In addition to viewing on BlizzCon.com and in the BlizzCon Mobile app, we’ve added even more ways to watch the convention online and experience BlizzCon your way.

BlizzCon.com – Head to the Watch tab to catch all the action!
BlizzCon Mobile App – Download for free on your iOS and Android device, and see the show on the go.
Chromecast and AirPlay Support – New for 2018! Stream video from the BlizzCon Mobile App to your favorite compatible device to expand your viewing options.
Blizzard Battle.net Desktop App – New for 2018! Watch portions of the show live directly through the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app, and interact with friends across the Blizzard community.
BlizzCon TV App – New for 2018! Want to catch the convention on your big screen at home? Download the brand-new BlizzCon TV app for Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, and invite some friends over for some BlizzCon couch co-op. Just search for BlizzCon TV on your device.

Opening Ceremony
Friday · 11am PT · WATCH FREE!
You won’t want to miss this year’s epic Opening Ceremony, beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 2. Get a front-row seat for the latest news about your favorite games, and kick off an unforgettable weekend of Blizzard games.

All-Access Channel BlizzCon Pre-show & Free Preview Hours
Friday · 10:30am PT · WATCH FREE!
Friday · 2pm–3pm PT · WATCH FREE!
Saturday · 3pm–4pm PT · WATCH FREE!
Join BlizzCon All-Access Channel hosts Michele Morrow, Alex Albrecht, and Malik Forté for a guided tour of the convention. Tune in to the free pre-show before the Opening Ceremony, then check out free preview hours on 2pm–3pm PDT on Friday and 3pm–4pm PDT on Saturday.

Community Night
Friday · 7pm PT · Watch With Virtual Ticket
The focus Friday night is on the community as we host our favorite contests: the legendary Costume Contest, Talent Contest, Movie Contest, and Art Contest. This year's Community Night features actor and voice of Reinhardt Darin De Paul as your host; Matthew Mercer, Panser, and Jackie Craft as judges; and an incredlbe array of talented artists from across the Blizzard community. Don't miss it!

Esports Tournaments
Friday & Saturday · WATCH FREE!
BlizzCon Opening Week is already underway, and soon the sounds of swords, spells, cards, and armies clashing will fill the halls of the convention center as the final rounds of the World of Warcraft® Arena World Championship, Overwatch® World Cup, StarCraft® II World Championship Series, Heroes of the Storm® Global Championship Finals, WoW Mythic Dungeon Invitational, and Hearthstone® Global Games play out.

Explore all the available viewing options.

In-Game Goodies
The BlizzCon Virtual Ticket unlocks a plethora of in-game items for Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, StarCraft: Remastered, Heroes of the Storm, and Diablo III. You’ll also get access to the BlizzCon World of Warcraft Classic demo—at home! Learn more.

Original BlizzCon Video Content
While you wait for the show to start, be sure to check out all the original BlizzCon video content waiting for you on BlizzCon.com/watch and in the apps. Explore epic stores from the Blizzard community and universes in the Epic Tales series, learn how Blizzard creates worlds in the Universe Builders series, and get tips, tricks, and more from talented artists across the Blizzard community in the “Level Up!” series.

Viewing Party Kit
The Viewing Party Kit will help you craft a celebration of epic proportions as you serve up legendary snacks engineered by our very own culinary wizards; host an epic array of activities with Blizzard trivia questions and BlizzCon Bingo cards; and much more. If you can't make it to the party, the Virtual Ticket will help bring the party to you!

Comment by agrapurDiablo mobile incoming!Comment by quizticwas hoping for Naomi Kyle instead of Michele, Alex or Malik (all 3 are terrible)Comment by FlayOnDarkIronI suspect like every year, for pretty much as long as I can remember, the Wowhead coverage will be far more concise and efficient to consume than anything that is actually produced by, for, and at Blizzcon by Blizzard. I look forward to the articles.Comment by PeredhilFirst impression of Blizzcon is ppl accusing unusual world lag-especially in Drustvar , and difficulties in logging in. Personally I noticed some gchat lag. Considering is raid day, if some of the team have issues logging in, I'm already "hyped" for the event. Totally unrelated with some random HotS stuff happening now...Comment by NeroRainHas anyone had any trouble bringing in that Blizzcon messenger bag they gave away in 2015 as your "20x10 bag"? I don't know if I have any other bag that's close to the 20x10 limits listed on the site.Comment by thorr69First impression of Blizzcon is ppl accusing unusual world lag-especially in Drustvar , and difficulties in logging in. Personally I noticed some gchat lag. Considering is raid day, if some of the team have issues logging in, I'm already "hyped" for the event. Totally unrelated with some random HotS stuff happening now...Comment by pmkabooFirst impression of Blizzcon is ppl accusing unusual world lag-especially in Drustvar , and difficulties in logging in. Personally I noticed some gchat lag. Considering is raid day, if some of the team have issues logging in, I'm already "hyped" for the event. Totally unrelated with some random HotS stuff happening now...Comment by PeredhilFirst impression of Blizzcon is ppl accusing unusual world lag-especially in Drustvar , and difficulties in logging in. Personally I noticed some gchat lag. Considering is raid day, if some of the team have issues logging in, I'm already "hyped" for the event. Totally unrelated with some random HotS stuff happening now...Comment by thorr69

clearly they are using wow servers to stream the hots event happening right now.Comment by DeihjanBut who is hosting everything else.. FFS this is ALL I want to know.Comment by kaleestrazaDamn the size of the Diablo space is sadComment by kaleestrazaInclusion Nexus does not sound very inclusive. Woman's Council and LGBTQ? Sounds like a far left propaganda safe space that has nothing to do with games. giganticComment by Engerzhas nothing to do with games.Comment by theironhordePresented efficiently and preciseComment by LolusDamn the size of the Diablo space is sadComment by SalvadoreThey really invited TRAIN, wow I think that was a joke... for clear reasons... really weird to think this is a concert target at gamers... TRAIN... Anyway maybe they somehow are popular now?
Also Darin De Paul as a host, he is really annoying and from G&S I know he doesn't make a good host but that is just my opinion...Comment by RunespeakerIt will appease the radical political zealots. It's a wonder more of them aren't offended by having a small section dedicated to them, rather than them being treated as normal gamers who are interested in doing what everybody else is doing.Comment by IthiilienTbh im really disappointed in the Nexus area but this explains a lot on why blizzard is doing some of the things they do guess liberal far left side couldn't just let gamers be gamers now i have to be brainwashed in games as well like its not enough they have their fingers in everything else.... All i want is to play some games in virtual world why does some far left hurt political side gotta ruin that as well just let games be games stop implementing what you think is right into it god damn no need for political nonsense :<Comment by ArchmageRexTbh im really disappointed in the Nexus area but this explains a lot on why blizzard is doing some of the things they do guess liberal far left side couldn't just let gamers be gamers now i have to be brainwashed in games as well like its not enough they have their fingers in everything else.... All i want is to play some games in virtual world why does some far left hurt political side gotta ruin that as well just let games be games stop implementing what you think is right into it god damn no need for political nonsense :<Comment by Runespeaker
As a conservative straight white male who voted for Trump, I know I am not welcome at the """Inclusion Nexus""" and will most likely be escorted out of the building if I did have a hankering to hear their stories.