For two days at the end of the summer in August, the usually sunny Anaheim California will morph into a Blizzard of epic proportions.‚  No, not an actual blizzard, rather all things Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo will descend upon the city for the fourth annual Blizzcon festival held at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Tickets for the show go on sale May 16 priced at $125 USD.‚  No word on whether or not WoW gold is an accepted method of payment.

Blizzard kindly reminds the faithful ticket-seekers to register with Battle.net before May 16 in order to simplify the ticket purchasing process.

Can’t make it to the show? Not a problem.‚  The event, for the first time ever will be available online as streaming content at the price point of $39.95.‚  What’s more, DIRECTV owners can purchase the pay-per-view event at the same price point and have both the television and internet stream available at no additional charge.‚  And anyone forking over precious moolah to the video game giant will receive an undisclosed WoW in-game item.‚  Better not be the Swine Flu sickness.

Where would we be without Blizzard?‚  Don’t answer that-it’s a scary and impossible thought to even conjure.

BlizzCon 2009 is officially happening.‚  The fourth annual convention for all things Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, August 21^st and 22^nd.

This year’s BlizzCon will be bigger and better than ever before.‚  Due to a high forecast of attendees, floor space will expand from three convention halls to four.‚  That’s an entire extra hall for you and your raiding pals to soak in Blizzard’s latest offerings.

Blizzard has been known to keep secrets, but when they’re ready to divulge, BlizzCon is usually where it happens.‚  Who knows, maybe we’ll finally get a glimpse at the World of Warcraft movie fanboys have been screaming for, or perhaps, their next non-World of Warcraft MMO.‚  One thing is for sure, whatever coveted secret Blizzard decides to unveil will blow our minds.

Mike Morhaime, CEO and founder of Blizzard Entertainment says,

“We’ve been amazed by the incredible response to each of our previous BlizzCon events,” and that‚  “We’re pleased to be bringing the convention back to Anaheim this year, and we look forward to this new opportunity to meet Blizzard gamers from around the world.”

And why shouldn’t he be. ‚ With hands on time with pre-release titles, discussion panels with Blizzard developers, competitive and casual tournaments for attendees, great prizes, commemorative merchandise based on the Blizzard universe, and a silent auction, this year’s BlizzCon looks to be aiming for new heights.

Keep an eye on the BlizzCon 2009 official site for further details regarding ticket availability and pricing.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft^(R) and the Warcraft^(R), StarCraft^(R), and Diablo^(R) series, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes eleven #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net^(R), is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Blizzard Entertainment’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard’s success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.