BlizzCon Readies For Kick Off

Blizzard Entertainment’s two-day festival celebrating the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo game universes and their global player communities, begins on Friday, October 21, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. The sold-out show features a wide range of events and activities, including discussion panels with developers of Blizzard Entertainment games; intense eSports competition featuring top pro gamers from around the world; costume and dance contests hosted by comedian Jay Mohr; and an epic rock concert headlined by the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning Foo Fighters.

While tickets to BlizzCon sold out in seconds, viewers can watch at home by ordering a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, offering over 50 hours of comprehensive live HD coverage of the event (including Foo Fighters’ performance) across four channels globally over the Internet. Those who order a Virtual Ticket will also receive this year’s BlizzCon-exclusive World of Warcraft in-game pet, the fearsome-ish Murkablo, as well as a yet-to-be-revealed StarCraft II in-game gift. DIRECTV customers in the United States can also order BlizzCon 2011 as a Pay Per View event and receive a Virtual Ticket for free. Limited streaming coverage of the BlizzCon opening ceremony and certain BlizzCon tournaments will be available via the Internet for free. More information on the Virtual =

“Every BlizzCon, we look forward to meeting up with our players and sharing the latest news about our games with the world,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve put together a great lineup of events this year, capped off with an awesome Foo Fighters show, and we can’t wait to provide attendees and everyone joining us from home with an unforgettable weekend.”

Previous BlizzCons have featured a variety of exciting events and announcements, including the unveiling of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm™, the first-ever public hands-on with Diablo III, and epic rock performances by Ozzy Osbourne and Tenacious D.

This week, Blizzard Entertainment also launched a series of special charity auctions giving game enthusiasts a unique chance to own a piece of World of Warcraft history — original Hewlett Packard® ProLiant server blades that once housed hundreds of different realms across North America and Europe. The net proceeds from the auction will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, one of the world’s premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. Interested buyers can find more information on the auction schedule as well as a detailed FAQ at www.ebay.com/blizzard.

BlizzCon would not be possible without the enthusiasm of Blizzard Entertainment gamers around the world and the generous support of the event’s sponsors, who provide demo-station hardware, peripherals, and more. This year’s sponsors are Intel, NVIDIA, ASUS, LG Electronics, Antec, SteelSeries, DIRECTV, Razer, and VASCO Data Security.

Anyone attending BlizzCon who is interested in pursuing career opportunities at Blizzard Entertainment should bring their resumes, portfolios, or business cards. Members of different Blizzard teams will be on hand to review materials and discuss any job-related questions.