{"id":462061,"date":"2026-09-13T00:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T00:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462061\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T00:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T00:10:08","slug":"blizzcon-creates-an-oasis-for-gamers-in-its-return-to-anaheim-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462061\/","title":{"rendered":"BlizzCon creates an \u2018oasis\u2019 for gamers in its return to Anaheim \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of gamers, cosplayers and enthusiasts gathered in Anaheim<\/a> on Saturday, Sept. 12, for the first time in three years for BlizzCon 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The two-day event is bringing together fans of popular Blizzard Entertainment<\/a> franchises such as Diablo, Hearthstone, Overwatch, StarCraft and World of Warcraft for sneak peeks at new releases and content, competitive gameplay, celebrity panels and fan experiences. It continues on Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center.<\/p>\n

The opening ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 12, packed the convention center\u2019s arena and kicked off with remarks from Johanna Faries, president of Blizzard Entertainment, which has long been based in nearby Irvine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While not her first time at BlizzCon, this year\u2019s convention is a special one for her, Faries said: It\u2019s her first since taking over as president in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Aubri<\/p>\n

Aubri Caruth of Iowa strolls through the Anaheim Convention Center as Ragnaros the Firelord, a World of Warcraft gaming villain, on Saturday, September 12, 2026. She and her husband, Travis Caruth, were at the international BlizzCon convention. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"BlizzCon<\/p>\n

BlizzCon gaming fans are pumped and ready for fun as they gather at the opening ceremonies in the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, September 12, 2026. The event brings thousands of people together from around the world to cosplay, hear about new games, and take part in hands-on activities. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"BlizzCon<\/p>\n

BlizzCon announces new developments for Blizzard Entertainment games during the opening ceremony of the weekend event at the Anaheim Convention Center on
\nSaturday, September 12, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"With<\/p>\n

With projection screens surrounding them, Blizzard Entertainment enthusiasts watch animations during BlizzCon, a weekend event at the Anaheim Convention Center. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Blizzard<\/p>\n

Blizzard Entertainment Vice President and Executive Producer of World of Warcraft, Holly Longdale, talks to gaming fans during BlizzCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, September 12, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"It\u2019s<\/p>\n

It\u2019s standing room only at the BlizzCon opening ceremony at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, September 12, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

David Alfano watches the opening ceremony of BlizzCon, a weekend event celebrating Blizzard Entertainment\u2019s gaming community at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, September 12, 2026. Alfano, a technician at the event, is surrounded by 600 computers that will be open to gamers.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Kobolds,<\/p>\n

Kobolds, World of WarCraft characters, infiltrate the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, September 12, 2026, during the weekend BlizzCon event. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 8<\/p>\n

Aubri Caruth of Iowa strolls through the Anaheim Convention Center as Ragnaros the Firelord, a World of Warcraft gaming villain, on Saturday, September 12, 2026. She and her husband, Travis Caruth, were at the international BlizzCon convention. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTo everyone here making BlizzCon what it is, thank you for fostering more joy in the world, even when times can be tough,\u201d Faries said. \u201cEven when we might be carrying so much, sometimes unseen or unspoken, it makes it all the more significant to come together in this way, and to join us in the journey of dreaming bigger and for pushing what\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, BlizzCon 2026 is a weekend that can serve \u201cas a kind of an oasis\u201d for gamers, while still being a party, she said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the thousands attending this weekend\u2019s event in Anaheim, many more around the world were watching the livestreams on YouTube, Twitch and Blizzard\u2019s own online gaming service, Battle.net<\/a>, Faries said.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s kick-off marked the first BlizzCon since 2023<\/a>, when the gaming giant\u2019s parent company, Activision Blizzard, was acquired by Microsoft Corporation for $69 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following the opening ceremony, attendees poured out of the main stage area to find the Anaheim Convention Center<\/a> halls once again transformed into a gamers\u2019 paradise, with places to try games, watch top players compete, get transported into immersive environments and buy plenty \u2014 and plenty \u2014 of merchandise.<\/p>\n

But for thousands of convention-goers, Saturday\u2019s opening ceremony and its many announcements were far from the beginning \u2014 or the focus \u2014 of this weekend\u2019s festivities.<\/p>\n

Hours before Faries took the stage, crowds of Blizzard fans \u2014 most decked out in gear from their favorite game or cosplaying as their favorite characters \u2014 lined the streets outside the Anaheim Convention Center, down West Katella Avenue, wrapping down South Harbor Boulevard and even onto Orangewood Avenue.<\/p>\n

Tristan Mercier, 30, who traveled from Quebec City to attend this year\u2019s convention, said he was one of the early risers this year, waking up at 5 a.m. and getting in line at 6:30.<\/p>\n

But the early morning did not take away from any of the excitement, Mercier said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything can make you ready for these crowds. Just the size of this venue is insane,\u201d he said. \u201cI know conceptually that there was going to be a lot of people; it\u2019s like one of the biggest single-company conventions that there is in gaming, but \u2026 it\u2019s overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s convention is special for a few reasons for Mercier, outside of it being his first time ever attending any sort of gaming convention, let alone BlizzCon. Mercier said he grew up playing the early Diablo games and now is working with Blizzard, starting about four years ago. Though he works for the company, Mercier decided to attend this event on his own \u2014 and by himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a fan of Blizzard forever. My first game was (Diablo 2) on my PC and then I played a lot of D3 \u2026 I just kind of had to be here,\u201d he said. \u201cIf (I attended) any BlizzCon, it was going to be this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner Bruch, 35, travelled from his home in the Minneapolis area to attend BlizzCon for the first time. Bruch has friends who work for Blizzard who got him to come out, he said. But like Mercier, Bruch said he has a long history with the company\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event marks the first time he\u2019ll be meeting people face-to-face that he\u2019s known and gamed with for a decade, Bruch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to be able to finally meet them and see them, it\u2019s going to be really cool. I\u2019ve met some (of my guild members) in the past, but this is just ticking a lot of boxes,\u201d he said. \u201cI love seeing people in their element with the things that bring them joy. I think that brings me a lot of joy. So when I see people having fun and enjoying things, I\u2019m having fun and enjoying things.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are just free to be themselves without fear of judgement here,\u201d he added, \u201cand I think that\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s always a first time for something, this is far from the first BlizzCon for Lori Quinonez, 52. She\u2019s attended the Anaheim event every year it\u2019s happened, except for one: the 2010 event when actor Jack Black\u2019s band, Tenacious D, performed. It\u2019s something Quinonez is still kicking herself about, she said, and she hasn\u2019t missed a convention since.<\/p>\n

For Quinonez, BlizzCon is not about the new announcements, cool fan events or celebrities who show up: it\u2019s all about the gaming. As a diehard World of Warcraft player since it released in 2004, she has some gripes about how the game has changed over the years. But those changes haven\u2019t affected her love for BlizzCon, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though (the new Warcraft expansion) has the old stuff and they did add to it, which is exciting to see (at) some of the previews in there, there\u2019s nothing like the old Warcraft,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of exciting to see the gameplay, and I want to play, but I\u2019d rather wait (until release). I like to be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

And although the convention center buzzed and brimmed Saturday morning with excitement from people of all ages eagerly awaiting a schedule full of events based on Blizzard\u2019s flagship titles, ultimately the weekend-long gaming nirvana serves as a reminder to the rest of the world, Faries said. To show \u201cwhy community like this matters so very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that BlizzCon can feel like a sacred space,\u201d she said. \u201cWhere you can enjoy, you can make lasting bonds, and make this place and this community feel like home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of gamers, cosplayers and enthusiasts gathered in Anaheim on Saturday, Sept. 12, for the first time in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,179,23,611,136],"class_list":["post-462061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-community","tag-local-news","tag-orange-county","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}