Blizzard: No Blizzcon In 2012 Due To 'Jam-Packed Schedule'

Blizzcon will skip 2012 so that Blizzard can concentrate on releasing Diablo 3, Starcraft 2's Heart of the Swarm and World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria expansion, the developer has announced.

Instead, Blizzard has announced the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, billed as "a major global eSports event featuring some of the best pro-gaming competition in the world."

The Battle.net World Championship will take place in Asia at the end of the year and also house 2012’s StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments.

"We're also heavily focused on getting Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria, and Heart of the Swarm into players’ hands as soon as possible," reads the Blizzcon blog. "In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013."

Expect more details on the Battle.net World Championship in the coming months - but don't expect Diablo 3 in the same time frame.