BlizzCon 2023 schedule announced, with some notable absences

We finally have the full schedule for BlizzCon 2023, and it seems a little sparse:

Friday, November 3

• 11AM – Opening Ceremony
• 1:30PM – World of Warcraft: What’s Next
• 2:30PM – Overwatch 2: Deep Dive
• 3:30PM – World of Warcraft Classic: What’s Next
• 4:30PM – Hearthstone: What’s Next
• 5:30PM – Warcraft Rumblings

Saturday, November 4

• 12PM – World of Warcraft: Deep Dive
• 1:30PM – Overwatch 2: What’s Next
• 2:30PM – Diablo IV Campfire Chat with game director Joe Shely, associate game director Brent Gibson, production director Tiffany Wat, lead game producer Kayleigh Calder, and associate director of community Adam Fletcher
• 4:45PM – Community Night
• 6:15PM – LE SSERAFIM Appearance

This year’s schedule is notably streamlined, with all panels taking place on a single stage. Many smaller, more niche panels won’t make an appearance, such as panels focused on art, voice actors, and other topics that don’t touch on the biggest news of the convention. I have to say, the VA panels have always been some of the best events at BlizzCon, so it’s a shame they’re gone.

One notable absence is the lack of dedicated Q&A panels, as the WoW Q&A panel has been a major event at previous conventions. But we’ve also seen of snafus at Q&A events in the past, like off-hand remarks from devs that may not have been quite on brand and the occasional inappropriate question. However, the WoW team will be holding a post-BlizzCon Q&A session, soliciting questions at BlizzCon and on the forums to make it easier for the entire community to participate. The Diablo 4 team will also been taking questions at the convention for its Saturday Campfire Chat event, so you’ll be able to ask questions, but you’ll have to submit them in advance rather than asking them live.

Bear in mind that we’re likely to see changes to this schedule during the event. It’s typical for Blizzard to keep the initial panel names generic, and then reveal detailed topics after the opening ceremonies when everything has been announced. But it’s possible additional events could be added, perhaps late on Friday or early on Saturday. Maybe we’ll finally get a title for that untitled survival game? I don’t think I’d put money on it, but it’s possible.

You’ll be able to stream all of the scheduled panels live and for free via Twitch or YouTube. Some events will be broadcast on other channels: the WoW Guild Clash (and other PVP events) will be streamed on the Warcraft Twitch channel, and the Overwatch World Cup will be streamed on the Overwatch Twitch channel and YouTube channel.

And if you don’t have time to watch live, you can find all the news here on Blizzard Watch! We’ll see you (virtually) at the con next week.