Copyright Variety
Microsoft-owned Blizzard Entertainment has unveiled the pricing and on-sale date for tickets to BlizzCon 2026, its first BlizzCon since 2023. Early bird passes will go on sale Friday at 9 a.m. PST on Tixr and run through Sunday at 11:59 p.m. PST. Those passes will be priced at $249.99 USD each, which includes taxes and fees. Per Blizzard, the maximum number of passes a customer can purchase is rising from two to four tickets per account. Following that initial batch of ticket sales, standard rate passes priced at $289.99 each will be available starting Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. PST. The BlizzCon Pass grants full two-day weekend admission to BlizzCon, which will run Sept. 12-13, 2026 in Anaheim, California, including all Halls and Arena, during show hours. “BlizzCon is more than an event: it’s a homecoming. It’s a celebration of the stories we’ve shaped, the worlds forged together, and the friendships and bonds that make this gathering so unforgettable,” Blizzard Entertainment said in a blog post Wednesday. “Whether this is your first time attending BlizzCon or a long-awaited reunion with friends and fellow community members, there’s more time than ever to plan and personalize your experience. We’re thrilled to welcome you to what’s shaping up to be an incredible event. For a limited time, BlizzCon 2026 Passes are launching at a special early bird rate—making it the perfect time to claim your spot.” Additionally, Blizzard has revealed a first-look at panels and other scheduled offerings for BlizzCon 2026. which you can view below. See more gaming news from this week in the roundup below. NEW RELEASES “Football Manager 26” launched Tuesday from developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The popular simulation game is available across Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, PC and Mac. Per the game’s description, “Football Manager 26” “lays new foundations for fans to shape their soccer destiny with a host of new upgrades that spark fan imagination.” Watch the launch trailer for “Football Manager 26” below. PRIVACY/CHILD SAFETY TOOLS Discord launched new safety features Tuesday that expand guardians’ and parents’ abilities to monitor their teens’ habits on the social platform. Per Discord, “The new features allow guardians who have linked Family Center accounts to play a more active role in creating a safer space online for teens while still respecting their privacy.” The update will include “more visibility into recent activity”: In addition to the past seven days of activity that guardians can already see, Discord’s Family Center now includes insight into teens’ total purchases, total call minutes in voice and video and their top users and servers. Discord’s new features will also allow teens to notify guardians when they report another user or content, and new guardian-managed settings, including “who can DM your teen, whether sensitive content is filtered, and select data privacy controls.” EXEC SHUFFLE Atari has appointed Kelly Bianucci its new chief operating officer. She will report to Wade Rosen, Atari chairman and CEO. “Kelly is an accomplished leader who will help shape our strategy and implement operating structures and best practices across our organization that will be incredibly important as we continue to transform and grow,” Rosen said. “Kelly has been invaluable as an Atari board member, and I am excited for her to bring her passion for our business into her new role.” EARNINGS South Korean video game publisher Krafton reported its latest quarterly earnings, including revenue of KRW 870.6 billion and an operating profit of KRW 348.6 billion. Krafton offered an update on its longterm strategy accompanying the financial results: “KRAFTON plans to further accelerate growth within the PUBG IP franchise, leveraging the strong traffic of PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS. On PC and console, the company will continue to offer cultural experiences beyond gaming by continuing IP collaborations and sharing content within the IP franchise to generate synergy across titles. Efforts are also underway to evolve PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS into a ‘PUBG 2.0’ gameplay platform—featuring an upgrade to Unreal Engine 5, expanded gameplay modes, and user-generated content (UGC) enhancements. The mobile segment will aim to maintain steady growth through diversified content and stable live service operations. In line with its five-year strategy to establish a ‘Big Franchise IP,’ KRAFTON continues to make bold investments in new franchise IP development. The company has strengthened its creative leadership and expanded its development teams, now overseeing 11 projects currently in production. KRAFTON aims to strengthen its specialized production capabilities and expand its IP lineup across diverse genres. The company will offer a new look at open-world survival crafting game Palworld Mobile at G-STAR 2025 in Busan, Korea on November 13, giving players a hands-on experience for the first time.”
